niiiu 



elchizedek 



G.W. REASER 



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•isliLV.'^ 



COPYRICIIT DEPOSIT. 



MELCHIZEDEK 

OB. 

THE EXALTATION OF THE SON OF MAN 



1?*^ BY 

G. W. REASER 



"The Lord sware, and will not repent. Thou 
art a Priest forever after the order of Mel- 
chizedek." "Who is made, not after the law 
of a carnal commandment, but after the power 
of an endless life." *' By so much was Jesus 
made the surety of a better testament," 

Hebrews 7:21, 16, 22. 




BOSTON 

SHERMAN, FRENCH ^ COMPANY 

1913 






COPYBIGHT, 1913 

By G. W. Reaseb 
AU rights reserved 



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/^v 



€)ci.A35 74 3 3 



i4 



FOREWORD 

Every Bible student meets with questions 
the solution of which will, for a time at least, 
elude his grasp. 

The discovery of Bible mysteries, correctly 
viewed, is but a natural result of the study of 
the recorded thoughts of the Infinite by the 
finite mind. Such discoveries, instead of un- 
dermining the fact of inspiration in Divine 
revelation, are rather proof thereof; for it is 
written, "As the heavens are higher than the 
earth, so are my thoughts (higher) than your 
thoughts." The unfolding of these problems 
is God's answer to the true search for living 
truth. When, with the solution of one of 
these Bible mysteries, a golden thread of Je- 
hovah's marvelous system of truth is traced, 
and appears to our astonished vision, unbro- 
ken, harmonious, surpassingly beautiful, how 
profoundly are we impressed anew with the 
inspiration of the Word of God. 

In the following pages we undertake the so- 
lution of a mystery which for ages has suc- 
cessfully bafiled the pursuit of profound Bible 

iii 



iv FOREWORD 

students. The author believes that there is a 
"fullness of time" in the plan of redemption 
for the unfolding of certain specific truths, 
"which hath been hid from ages and from gen- 
erations." That a certain mystery has not 
been unfolded in the past does not militate 
against its importance. Even the prophecies 
pertaining to Christ's first advent were not 
comprehended by God's people until after their 
fulfillment. Then, too, the prophet Daniel 
was told to seal up the prophecies of his book 
until the time of the end." (Dan. xii, 4, See 
also 1 Pet. i, 10-12.) 

Therefore the fact that the meaning of the 
prophecies pertaining to Christ as "a Priest 
forever after the order of Melchizedek" have 
not been grasped by God's children does not 
militate against their truthfulness, nor" does 
it minimize their importance. Surely the oath 
of Jehovah by which Christ was made a Priest 
in that exalted order attaches sufficient im- 
portance to our theme to invite a candid study 
of the Melchizedek order of priesthood. 

The writer is confident, as expressed by a 
devoted servant of God, that "there are mines 
of truth yet to be discovered by the earnest 
seeker," and that, "whenever the people of 
God are growing in grace, they will be con- 
stantly obtaining a clearer understanding of 



FOREWORD V 

His Word. They will discern new light and 
beauty in its sacred truths. This has been 
true in the history of the church in all ages, 
and thus it will continue to the end." 

In presenting this brief work to the public 
and to Bible students of all creeds, the author 
desires to emphasize the thought that he makes 
no claims to superior knowledge of the Scrip- 
tures, nor to infallible interpretation of Bible 
mysteries. He would humbly submit the 
Scripture argument contained in the book, not 
dogmatically, but rather, suggestively, and as 
being the most harmonious, logical and satis- 
fying of any theory known to him which at- 
tempts to account for the appearance in our 
world of "Melchizedek, King of Salem, Priest 
of the Most High God !" His personal interest 
in the theme is intensified from the fact that 
the Christian's hope, — which is "as an anchor 
to the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which 
entereth into that within the veil, whither the 
Fore-runner is for us entered, even Jesus, made 
an High Priest forever after the order of Mel- 
chizedek," — cannot be a wholly intelligent 
hope, unless we can in some degree get a mental 
grasp of the ofiice of Christ by virtue of the 
fact that as our Melchizedeh He now occupies 
a place at God's right hand. 

If this treatise shall serve to exalt Christ 



vi FOREWORD 

in the minds of the readers, elucidate the Bible 
mystery and thereby establish faith more firmly 
in God's living Word, and fasten hope more 
securely "within the veil," the writer will be 
abundantly repaid for his labor. With minds 
receptive to the influence of that Spirit which 
guides into all truth, let us begin our study. 
With grateful appreciation for encouraging 
and helpful suggestions from the many friends 
in the gospel ministry to whom an outline of the 
contents of the book was submitted before pub- 
lication, 

I remain your coworker in the gospel, 

G. W. Reaser. 

GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Importance of the Subject . . 9 
II A Mysterious Personage . . • 14* 

III This Priesthood Composed of an 

Order 20 

IV The Original Plan of Jehovah for 

Our World 27 

V Essentials of the Melchizedek 

Priesthood . . . . . . .34 

VI The Oath of Jehovah . ... 63 

VII Kingship by Birth and by Charac- 
ter 101 

VIII ''Other Worlds than Ours" . .116 

IX The Supernatural in the Plan of 

Redemption 125 

X Divine Love Prompted the Choice 132 

XI The Purpose of Melchizedek's Visit 135 

XII The Throne of the Universe to be 

Transferred to the Earth . . 144j 

XIII Other Views Tested 151 

XIV Recapitulation 155 

Appendix 162 



CHAPTER I 
IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT 

"The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art 
a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psa. 
ex, 4.) 

In all things under God, Jesus Christ must 
"have the preeminence." Jehovah has made 
this declaration concerning His Son. To ac- 
complish this result He placed Himself under 
oath, the import of which was that, although 
Jesus would take a place of the utmost hu- 
mility to accomplish man's redemption, yet in 
the end He must be exalted to a position as 
Priest-King, which would make him transcend- 
ent in glory and majesty above all who hold 
similar offices in the entire universe. 

Candid reader, can you conceive of a more 
emphatic way by which Jehovah, in His Word, 
could seek to impress upon the minds of men 
a specific truth concerning the Messiah than 
by interposing Himself with an oath concern- 
ing that truth? If you are a Bible student, 
please try to recall how many times in all the 
history of the world Jehovah has deemed it 



10 MELCHIZEDEK 

essential to place Himself under oath. If 
you have never given this question careful at- 
tention, you may be surprised to find how few 
such instances are recorded. It is even more 
surprising that practically all religious denom- 
inations plead ignorance concerning the nature 
and significance of the oath by which Jesus is 
made the Eternal Priest of our world, and rel- 
ative to the important truths pertaining to His 
priesthood intended to be impressed by the 
oath. 

The text of the oath is as follows: — "The 
Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou 
art a Priest forever, after the order of Mel- 
chizedek." It is beyond belief of Christian 
people that the important truths intended to 
be impressed on the minds of mankind by this 
oath of Jehovah shall remain forever sealed. 

It is true that certain portions of Scripture 
were purposely sealed until "the fullness of the 
times,'' in the plan of salvation for their un- 
folding (see Dan. xii, 9; Rom. xvi, 25, 26; Eph. 
iii, 3-5; 1 Pet. i, 10-12), yet before probation- 
ary time shall close, every seal placed by Je- 
hovah upon His Word must be broken. Have 
we not reached the eventful day for the break- 
ing of every seal, — for the full unfolding of 
God's treasure-book of truth? 

The question is constantly raised by 



IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECT 11 

thoughtful Bible students, ^Who was Melchiz- 
edek?" Is there an intelligent Bible answer 
for the question, or must it forever remain 
unanswered? 

The statement that Christ is "made a Priest 
forever after the order of Melchizedek" is re- 
peated again and again in Holy Writ. We 
are entirely at sea in regard to what is meant 
by the parallel or likeness, unless we can dis- 
cover what constitutes this "order," and what 
is involved and vested in it. And yet the 
Christian's hope is centered in the fact that 
our "forerunner is for us entered (within the 
veil), even Jesus," "made an high Priest for- 
ever after the order of Melchizedek." (Heb. 
vi, 19, 20.) 

Inasmuch as the hope of the plan of re- 
demption is based upon the fact that Jesus is 
made a Priest forever after the order of Mel- 
chizedek, and as such has entered within the veil 
as our Forerunner, suppose that an intelligent 
man who had been groping all his life in the 
darkness of heathenism should come in contact 
with representatives of the Christian religion, 
and should decide to make a candid investiga- 
tion of the merits of Christianity. Such rep- 
resentatives would gladly place in his hands 
the Christian's Guide Book, — the Bible. In a 
careful perusal of its contents, the heathen 



12 MELCHIZEDEK 

investigator must eventually read the book of 
Hebrews. Suppose that at this point he 
should come to you, a professed Christian, and 
ask you the question, "What is the meaning of 
your inspired Bible in calling your Savior a 
Priest after the order of Melchizedek? Will 
you kindly explain the nature of this priest- 
hood to me, for I perceive that much import- 
ance is attached to it in your Guide Book." 
The question would surely be a fair one, and 
one that should receive an intelligent answer 
from the professor of the Christian religion. 
What answer would you give him.^ Would it 
be, "I am ignorant on this theme, and nearly 
the whole professed Christian world are like- 
wise in profound ignorance of the char- 
acter of this mysterious priesthood".? Would 
not this be a shameful confession for Chris- 
tianity to make.? But such is, in reality, the 
answer of Christendom to the question raised. 
Suppose that we should find such a paradox 
as this between the "sacred" writings and the 
universal confession of any of the great sys- 
tems of heathen religions. Would we not be 
inclined to declare it to be an inherent weak- 
ness ? 

While it is human nature to minimize the 
importance of a subject that we do not compre- 
hend, yet a moment's reflection upon the 



IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECT 13 

importance which necessarily attaches to our 
theme because of the oath of Jehovah (Psa. 
ex, 4)5 and, further, because of the special 
prominence given to it by Paul in his letter 
to the Hebrews (Chapters v, vi, vii and viii), 
will appeal to all as ample justification for 
our investigation. 

In commenting on the text: ^^This Mel- 
chizedek. King of Salem, priest of the Most 
High God" (Heb. vii, 1), one writer has said, — 

"This passage is fragrant with the ointment 
of His [Christ's] name. Our hands drop 
with myrrh, and our fingers with sweet-smell- 
ing myrrh, as we lay them upon the handles of 
this lock. Let us get aside from the busy rush 
of life, and think long, deep thoughts of Him 
who is the Alpha and Omega of Scripture, and 
of saintly hearts. And let us draw from the 
unsearchable depths of His nature, by the 
bucket of this mysterious record touching 
Melchizedek, the King of Salem." 



CHAPTER II 
A MYSTERIOUS PERSONAGE 

''Now consider how great this man wo^, unto whom 
even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the 
spoils" (Heb. vii, 4.) 

It will doubtless be conceded by all Bible 
students that the personage first brought to 
view in the Sacred Volume, under the title 
"Melchizedek," is one of the most mysterious 
characters introduced into Holy Writ. But 
one other can be said to hold equal rank with 
him in this, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ. 
His supernatural coming into our world was 
equally mysterious, as it is written, "without 
controversy great is the mystery of Godliness. 
God was manifest i/n the flesh, justified in the 
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gen- 
tiles, believed on in the world, received up into 
glory.'' (I Tim. ii, 16.) 

In accord with the above statement is a quo- 
tation from the Encyclopedia Biblica, arti- 
cle "Melchizedek," which reads as follows: 
"The priest-king Melchizedek in Canaan is a 

startling phenomenon. The author of the 

U 



A MYSTERIOUS PERSONAGE 15 

Epistle to the Hebrews treats the account of 
Melchizedek, in Genesis, chapter xiv, as a mine 
of suggestions for the right comprehension 
of the nature and office of Christ." Contin- 
uing, the author adds that the study of the iden- 
tity of Melchizedek and the order of the Mel- 
chizedek priesthood, "even apart from Christian 
association, is surely a fascinating theme." 
The writer finds himself among the innumerable 
host of Bible students throughout the ages 
who have found this theme intensely fascinat- 
ing. 

McClintock and Strong refer to this mys- 
terious character in the following language: 
"Bearing a title which Jews in after ages would 
recognize as designating their own sovereign, 
bringing gifts (bread and wine), which recall 
to Christians the Lord's supper, — disappear- 
ing as suddenly as he came in, he is lost to the 
sacred writings for a thousand years, and then 
a few emphatic words (Ps. ex, 4) for another 
moment bring him into sight as a type of the 
Coming Lord of David. Once more, after an- 
other thousand years, the Hebrew Christians 
are taught to see in him the office of the 

PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST." 

Notwithstanding the study and research of 
men of talent throughout the ages, it is gen- 
erally agreed by leading Bible scholars and 



16 MELCHIZEDEK 

learned commentators that the mystery of the 
identity of Melchizedek is, up to the present 
time, unsolved in the minds of the Christian 
world. After summing up all of the theories 
set forth to fathom this mystery, these com- 
mentators use such terms as "guesses," 
"opinions," "unauthorized additions to Holy 
Scriptures," "shifts," and "absurdities," to de- 
scribe what they regard as futile efforts. 

Confronted by all this, it would seem to be al- 
most presumptuous to advance a new theory 
and thereby take the hazard of being classed by 
the learned sages with others who have ventured 
to tread in this field of mystery. However, the 
writer believes with Dean Alford, who, in con- 
cluding his comments on this theme, states : 
"A day will come when all shall be clear," and 
God will "give us full revelation on this sub- 
ject." We will add that the nearer we ap- 
proach to the sublime event of our Lord's Sec- 
ond Coming, the more assurance may we have 
that all Bible mysteries pertaining to the plan 
of salvation will be disclosed. 

Right here, however, we are less concerned 
about the matter of establishing the identity of 
the Melchizedek who met Abraham, than in de- 
termining what constitutes the order of the 
Melchizedek priesthood, and thereby learn what 
is the significance of the oath of Jehovah, by 



A MYSTERIOUS PERSONAGE 17 

which Jesus is made a priest forever after that 
order. What glory, what majesty, what pre- 
eminence will accrue to Christ by the fulfilling 
of the oath? The unfolding of the mystery 
of the identity of the Melchizedek who met Ab- 
raham must lie in the channel of the discovery 
of the attributes, characteristics and positions 
occupied by the "order" of priesthood to which 
he belongs. When these points are cleverly VLo^^*"^^ 
revealed, with the proof that the said Melchize- 
dek was not a, member of our human family, 
then we will understand to what class of be- 
ings he belongs, and the official position that 
he holds as being a priest in a certain exalted 
order. 

Clearly the following way is open before us 
to determine the identity of the Melchizedek, 
who met Abraham, namely, by ascertaining the 
characteristics of the order to which he belongs. 
Following the same channel of information will 
also enable us to determine the reason why 
Christ is styled a Priest in the same order, and 
will reveal to us the position which He holds 
by becoming a High Priest bearing the title 
"Melchizedek." 

Among the many priests brought to view in 
the Scriptures, there must be some special rea- 
son why one only of these is singled out and 
Christ is declared to be "another" Priest in the 



18 MELCHIZEDEK 

same order. From the fact that the descrip- 
tion of Melchizedek as king of righteousness, 
king of peace, priest of the Most High God in 
perpetuity, and as having endless life, thus far 
corresponds exactly with the nature and offices 
of Christ and with the positions held by Him, 
many have thought that the Melchizedek who 
once met Abraham was Christ, but it can be 
easily demonstrated that this was a wrong con- 
clusion. 

That we may understand the oath by which 
Christ is made a Priest-king and secure the pre- 
cious gems of truth contained therein, we must 
seek earnestly to determine what constitutes 
the order of Melchizedek priesthood. If we 
can clearly comprehend this oath, it will, in a 
new sense, give Jesus Christ the preeminence in 
all things. 

To the end that the reader may have the ob- 
jective point of the writer in mind, which will 
be a material help in weighing the evidence 
given, the following thoughts are suggested, in 
advance of full proof which will be presented 
later. 

ANTICIPATION 

The heads of all worlds are created beings. 
They are each created in the image of God^ 
They are each priest-kings. They each bear 



A MYSTERIOUS PERSONAGE 19 

the title, "Melchizedek." Each head of a 
world is its "everlasting Father." Adam 
would have been the King, High Priest, ever- 
lasting Father of this world; or, to put the 
thought in other words, he would have been 
this world's "priest for ever after the order of 
Melchizedek," had he not lost his God-given 
right to the office by yielding to sin.-^ 

1 If it be objected that the idea of priest is only as- 
sociated with offering sacrifices and intercession, let us 
recall the fact that Christ is styled our Priest-King, 
our Melchizedek, at the time when He has triumphed 
over all His foes and when the days of sacrifice and 
intercession for sin are forever past, and when He is 
King over all the earth. (Ps. xc, 4.) Also the re- 
deemed are called priests of Ood, because they appear 
personally before Him, without other representation, and 
this, after all sacrifice and intercession for sin has 
ceased. (Rev. xx, 6.) 



CHAPTER III 

THIS PRIESTHOOD COMPOSED 
OF AN ORDER 

''If therefore 'perfection were by the Levitical priest- 
hood, . . . what further need was there that another 
priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not 
he called after the order of Aaron." (Heb. vii, 11.) 

The Melchizedek who met Abraham on the 
return of the latter from his victorious pursuit 
of Chedorlaomer was not, as some have thought, 
the Messiah; and yet Christ is Melchizedek. 
These statements, although apparently contra- 
dictory, are perfectly harmonious, as will ap- 
pear later. 

Reference is made but twice, in the Scriptures 
which antedate the birth of Christ, to the sub- 
ject of our inquiry by his official title, — "Mel- 
chizedek." (See Gen. xiv, 17-20; Ps. ex, 4.) 
Doubtless he is mentioned in connection with a 
group or order of equal associates, in the 1st, 
2nd and 38th chapters of the book of Job ; but 
in these instances his official title is not dis- 
closed. 

We are studying a question of priesthood, 

under the new dispensation. The Aaronic 

priesthood, with its sacrificial system, expired 

by limitation at the Cross of Calvary. If our 

^0 



PRIESTHOOD AN ORDER 21 

investigation of the question of priesthood in- 
volved the Aaronic, we would logically go to the 
book of Leviticus. The only book of the New 
Testament which supplies the key to the solu- 
tion of the Melchizedek order of priesthood is 
the book of Hebrews, sometimes correctly 
styled "the book of the priesthood of the New 
Testament, or the Leviticus of the new dispen- 
sation." 

The book of Hebrews is a definite effort on 
the part of inspiration to set forth the priest- 
hood of Christ. When the book of Hebrews 
was written, the Levitical or Aaronic order of 
priesthood had passed away, its economy in the 
plan of God having terminated. Therefore the 
Aaronic being in the past, this epistle does not 
assume to explain its system of priesthood in 
detail, but, rather, deals with the Melchizedek 
order, of which Jesus is now our great High 
Priest. 

The Divine purpose in the writing of each 
book of the Bible is the unfolding of the com- 
plete plan of salvation for mankind; yet each 
book has its specific purpose, its link to sup- 
ply in the golden chain of heaven-born truth. 
The distant purpose, in the writing of the book iiU/£fevu<4* 
of Hebrews, is to exalt and magnify, to beautify 
and glorify the priesthood of Christ. The sub- 
ject of this inspired epistle is first declared to 



22 MELCHIZEDEK 

be equal with the Most High, Fellow-God ; with 
the fullness of creative power inherent in Him ; 
and so far superior to the highest angels in 
glory that all of these mighty messengers are 
invited to unite in is worship. (Heb. i, 1-6.) 

It is further stated that notwithstanding His 
exalted position. His infinite greatness, His su- 
preme power and glorious majesty, He con- 
descended to take upon Himself the weak, fal- 
len nature of sin-defiled humanity, — "For, 
verily. He took not on Him the nature of angels, 
but He took on Him the seed of Abraham,'' 
"that He might be a merciful and faithful High 
Priest." (Heb. ii, 16, 17.) 

The argument of the first two chapters of 
the book under consideration is focused upon 
the first verse of chapter three, in the invitation 
to the "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly 
calling," to "consider the Apostle and High 
Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." 

In continuation of this discourse upon the ex- 
alted priesthood of Christ frequent reference 
is made to the fact that He was made of God, 
an High Priest ^^after the order of Melchiz- 
edek," and in this thought is the climax of the 
argument reached. 

THE AARONIC AND THE MELCHIZEDEK 
PRIESTHOODS 

In the Aaronic priesthood all that was neces- 



PRIESTHOOD AN ORDER 23 

sary to be a priest was to have descent from 
Aaron, with certain necessary limitations. The 
priests of Aaron's order served "unto the ex- 
ample and shadow of heavenly things." (Heb. 
viii, 5; ix, 1-12.) The Aaronic priesthood was 
an "order.'' (Heb. vii, 11.) In an order there 
must be more than one. One, only, can not 
constitute an order of priests. 

Even so the Melchizedek priesthood is an 
order. There is more than one priest found 
in it. There are characteristics of this order 
of priests as follows: (1) They are called of 
God. (Heb. V, 1-5.) (2) They are sons of 
God. (Verses 5, 6.) This particular declara- 
tion of sonship is equivalent to an appointment 
to the priesthood. (Verses 8-10.) (3) They 
are king-priests. (Chapter vii, 1, 2.) So far 
as sacred history has revealed, with one excep- 
tion, each stands alone in his priesthood, pre- 
ceded and succeeded by no one in his priestly 
office; his priesthood is unchangeable. (Verses 
17, 24.) All these specifications are met in 
Christ Jesus. 

This oft-repeated statement of inspiration in 
declaring Christ to be "a Priest after the order 
of Melchizedek," is neither incidental nor ac- 
cidental. The Holy Spirit does not thus em- 
ploy language or play upon words. The pur- 
pose of Jehovah must be to convey to our minds 



24 MELCHIZEDEK 

new conceptions of truth and beauty relative 
to the priesthood of Christ. But this effort of 
the Infinite Mind to exalt Christ as our great 
High Priest is lost upon us, unless we can dis- 
cern the significance of the Melchizedek priest- 
hood, and grasp the beauty and grand reality 
of the truth intended to be imparted to us in 
styling our Saviour a ''High Priest forever, 
after the order of Melchizedek." There could 
be no force or meaning to the expression, if 
there is no solution to it. Is it possible that 
the strength of the discourse, the beauty of the 
culminating point of the book of Hebrews, in 
exalting the priesthood of Christ, is lost to 
earnest Bible students ? Not so, if we can solve 
the problem which now claims our concentrated 
attention. If any fear "trespassing upon for- 
bidden ground," we intrench ourselves confi- 
dently behind the invitation: '^Consider the 
Apostle and High Priest of our profession, 
Christ Jesus,"— in His office as "Priest after 
the order of Melchizedek." 

There was a time in the life of Christ when 
He was not the High Priest of our human 
family. (Heb. v, 5.) When He was clothed 
by His Father with the office of priesthood. He 
was ordained to be a "Priest after the order of 
Melchizedek.'' (v, 6.) As already noted, 
more than one individual is necessary to con- 



PRIESTHOOD AN ORDER 25 

stitute an "order." Naturally we would grasp 
the idea of a group of persons, holding like of- 
ficial or social positions, in the formation of an 
order. There were many priests in the order 
of whom Aaron was the first in point of time, 
hence the name, — the Aaronic priesthood. 
(Heb. vii, 11.) Just how many priests there 
are in the "order of Melchizedek" it is not nec- 
essary for us to know at present. We have 
knowledge of two individuals who are mentioned 
as being of the Melchizedek order of priesthood. 
The priest who met Abraham is one; Christ is 
''another,'' after the same order. (Heb. vii, 
15.) There are others called the "Sons of 
God," evideijtly also priests after the same 
order. The Melchizedek who blessed Abraham 
is one priest in a certain class ; Christ is an- 
other of the same class, or order. He also bear- 
ing the same title — "Melchizedek." ^ 

That the Melchizedek of Genesis xiv was not 
Christ is proven by the statement that he ''was 
made like unto the Son of God," and again by 
the fact "that after the similitude of Melchize- 
dek there ariseth another priest" (Heb. vii, 3, 
15). Thus Melchizedek was one, and Christ 

1 In the Melchizedek order of priesthood, there is not 
a succession of priests, except in the one instance of the 
failure of Adam to fulfill his mission, and the con- 
descension and accession of Christ to fill the vacancy. 



m MELCHIZEDEK 

^'another'' in the same ''order.'' ^ Christ had a 
pedigree. His ancestry is distinctly traced 
from Adam (Matthew i, Luke iv) ; Melchize- 
dek is without pedigree. (Heb. vii, 3.) 

In the study of priesthood and priest, let us 
reject the idea that sacrifice is essential to 
priesthood ; that a victim must be immolated and 
its blood offered by the priest for the people. 
We wish to present what seems to us sufficient 
evidence to show that this is not an essential 
idea of the divine original priesthood. 

In our first view of the Melchizedek priest- 
hood there is neither mention nor intimation of 
sacrifice. Melchizedek comes out to meet Abra- 
ham the faithful. He comes with his hands 
filled with blessing, needed blessing, "bread and 
wine." (Gen. xiv, 18-20.) He came as a 
great father, provider, dispenser of blessings. 
He recognized the great God Most High as pos- 
sessor of heaven and earth. Abraham recog- 
nized the exalted office of that priest, not by 
off*ering sacrifices, but by rendering him the 
Lord's due, the tenth of all. 

2 As regards the meaning in the original Greek of the 
word here translated "order," F. H. A. Schrivener, A.M., 
L.L.D., publishes a Greek Testament with Lexicon 
(Whittaker & Co., Publishers, London, 1877), in which, 
referring to Hebrews v, vi, vii, xi, he defines the Greek 
word ''taxis" as "an order," "a distinctive class, as of 
priests." 



CHAPTER IV 

THE ORIGINAL PLAN OF JEHO- 
VAH FOR OUR WORLD 

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of 
the mystery, which from the beginning of the world 
hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus 
Christ: to the intent that now . . . might be known by 
the church the manifold wisdom of Ood, according to the 
eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesu^ our 
Lord," (Eph. iii, 9-11.) 

To reach a correct conclusion as to what is 
comprehended in the office of priesthood in the 
Melchizedek order, it will be necessary to briefly 
consider at least one phase of the question, 
"What was Jehovah's original plan for our 
world?" A correct answer to this question will 
definitely show the process by which Christ be- 
came the Melchizedek of our human family, and 
thus by analogy, who, throughout the universe, 
are the priests after the order of Melchizedek. 
The original plan of Jehovah for our world will 
eventually be carried to a glorious completion, 
notwithstanding the incident of sin, which for a 

few millenniums (a few days with God), has 

37 



28 MELCHIZEDEK 

seemed to defeat it, for none of God's plans 
can ultimately fail. 

God's perfect plan for the universe compre- 
hends a universal family, and this family com- 
posed of planetary families. One of these 
planetary families has fallen and thus broken 
the harmony which ought to prevail in the uni- 
versal family. The effect of this inharmonious 
condition is well described in these words, — 
"For we know that the whole creation groaneth 
and travaileth together in pain until now." 
(Rom. viii, 32.) God's eternal purpose in- 
cludes the idea of bringing our planetary 
family, "the whole family of earth," into per- 
fect harmony with the universal family. This 
blessed state of harmony will eventually be the 
glorious result of the completed plan of redemp- 
tion, as it is written "that in the dispensation 
of the fullness of the times He might gather to- 
gether in one all things in Christ, both which are 
in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him." 
(Eph. i, 10.) When all this is an accomplished 
reality, Jesus Christ will be our Priest-King 
forever, after the order of Melchizedek. 

At this point it is essential to a clearer view 
of God's eternal purpose that we diverge for 
a moment and study the meaning of the term 
"Melchizedek." We find this word to be a 
title, rather than a name. It is compounded 



ORIGINAL PLAN OF JEHOVAH 29 

from two Hebrew words, Melek, meaning, a 
king, from malak, to reign ; and zedek, mean- 
ing, right, righteousness, — "King of Righteous- 
ness," just what every eternal king under God 
over every dominion God-given must be. 

When Jehovah bestows an official title, it 
invariably signifies in its root meaning the of- 
fice, or the character, or both, of the person 
upon whom the title is bestowed. Recognizing 
this absolutely universal rule in the bestowal of 
God-given titles will give us a positively cer- 
tain clue to the official position held by Christ 
in becoming, by the oath of Jehovah, a "Priest 
forever after the order of Melchizedek." 
Therefore to discover the character of the of- 
fice held by Christ as a Priest after the order 
of Melchizedek, our first avenue of approach 
should be to seek for the signification of the 
term "Melchizedek." We have already ascer- 
tained this from the Lexicon, but we must pur- 
sue our quest still further. 

When we discover the inspired meaning of 
the title, and then learn the process by which 
it was conferred upon Christ, we shall know ex- 
actly what office He will fill, what position He 
will hold, when the oath of Jehovah, making 
Him "a Priest after the order of Melchizedek," 
goes into full effect, and, incidentally, we shall 
learn the character of the offices held by each 



so MELCHIZEDEK 

member of the order of the Melchizedek priest- 
hood. Happily inspiration has made special 
effort to help us on this point. 

In the inspired definition of the title, and in 
the Scriptural specifications pertaining equally 
to Christ and to Melchizedek, we find that each 
is a priest forever of the Most High God, and 
each a king of righteousness and a king of 
peace (Melchizedek of Salem, which signifies 
"peace" ; and Christ of Jerusalem, "God's City 
of Peace"). Thus in accepting God's univer- 
sal rule in the bestowal of titles (and names as 
well), we discover in the definition of the title 
"Melchizedek," that by receiving the same, 
Christ becomes an eternal Priest, a King of 
Righteousness, and a King of Peace. (Heb. 
vi, 20 and vii, 1-3, 15, 16.) 

We must now consider th^ meaning of the 
term "priest." We find that its primary defi- 
nition is "father," and, secondarily, "repre- 
sentative." God's eternal purpose for our 
world was that Adam should be the father and 
the representative of the whole family of earth, 
and, barring his failure by sinning, eventually 
there would have been conferred upon him the 
offices of king of righteousness and king of 
peace. Doubtless every Bible student will con- 
cede that, by birth into our human family and 



ORIGINAL PLAN OF JEHOVAH 81 

by triumphing where the "first Adam'* had 
failed, Christ became "the last Adam." ^ (1 Cor. 
XV, 45.) Thus He became to our human family 
all that the first Adam was, or in God's plan 
was to become. And, inasmuch as the title 
"Melchizedek," in its meaning signifies what 
Adam was, and in the plan of God was to be- 
come to our world, so Adam having failed, and 
Christ having triumphed wherein the father of 
our race had failed, when the title "Melchize- 
dek" was conferred upon Christ by the oath of 
Jehovah, that title carried with it in its root 
meaning all that Adam was, or was to become 
to our human family, and bestowed the same on 
Christ, "the last Adam." Thus when the title 
"Melchizedek," or "Priest after the order of 
Melchizedek," was conferred upon Christ, He, 
as sin's conqueror, took Adam's position and 
became our "everlasting Father," our Repre- 
sentative, our High Priest, our Eternal King. 
With this discovery, how naturally are our 
minds carried forward by the prophetic Word 
to the time when, "Behold a King shall reign 
and prosper and shall execute judgment and 
justice in the earth . . . and this is the name 
whereby He shall be called, the xord our 
righteousness" (Jer. xxiii, 5, 6), which is 
equivalent to a declaration that the Lord is our 



32 MELCHIZEDEK 

Melchizedek, our King of Righteousness, our 
King of Peace. 

As previously noted, the Melchizedek priest- 
hood was composed of an order before Christ 
became a member of it. How may we determine 
the official position held by each member of the 
"order" .^ The simplest, most logical, most con- 
clusive proof of the nature of the official 
position held by each priest in this "order" is 
the fact that, as Adam was the head, the father, 
the high priest of our world, and by divine right 
would have been its eternal king had he not 
failed, and as Jesus was not a Priest in that 
''order'' (Heb. v, 5) until He had fully 
triumphed over sin, Satan, and death, at which 
time He became "the last Adam," "the everlast- 
ing Father," "the high Priest" and prospective 
King, in short the Melchizedek of our world, — 
therefore, the individuals who compose the en- 
tire "order" of the Melchizedek priesthood are 
each to their respective worlds all that Adam 
was, and all that Christ became to our world by 
taking Adam's forfeited place; for the mean- 
ing of the title "Melchizedek" conferred upon 
Christ as "the last Adam" logically compels 
this conclusion. 

"In a word^ God's remedy for the havoc wrought 
by the first Adam is christ, 'the last Adam/ in 



ORIGINAL PLAN OF JEHOVAH 33 

whom all the purposes of God in the creation of 
man will be fulfilled^ and in whom all the promises 
of God are yea and amen." ('*The World and its 
God/' p. 75.) 



CHAPTER V 

ESSENTIALS OF THE MELCHIZE- 
DEK PRIESTHOOD 

'^So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an 
High Priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art My 
Son, to-day have I begotten Thee, As He saith also in 
another place, Thou art a Priest forever after the order 
of Melchizedek." (Heb. v, 5, 6.) 

The one who holds place in the Melchizedek 
priesthood must be a son of God. In fact, this 
priesthood and the sonship are terms used in- 
terchangeably. ^'So Christ also glorified not 
Himself to be made a High Priest, but He that 
spake unto Him, thou art my son, this day 
have I begotten Thee; as He salth also In an- 
other place, THOU ART A PRIEST FOREVER AFTER 
THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK." (Heb. V, 5, 6.) 

This sonship of God Is equivalent to the divine 
priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. 

But this sonship referred to In Hebrews was 
not the eternal sonship of Christ of which men 
so often speak, but the sonship which Christ 
won through righteousness, acquired In His 
humiliation and his humanity through suffering, 
self-denial, and death, for which He was "de- 
clared to be the Son of God with power, accord- 

34 



THE ESSENTIALS S5 

ing to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrec- 
tion from the dead." (Rom. i, 4.) Then it 
was said, "Thou art My Son, this day have I 
begotten Thee." (Acts xiii, S3.) 

It was not in God's plan that this sonship 
should come through the suffering but through 
the gift of God, and the maintenance of a holy 
character. Therefore, when God created this 
world He placed one at its head, gave him do- 
minion over it all as earth's crown prince and 
prospective king. — Adam, "the son of God." 
(Luke iii, 38.) 

But in God's universe are other worlds, and 
over each of these worlds Jehovah has placed 
a son of God by creation. Before this world 
came into being there were other worlds ; and 
when this one was set forth in the development 
of the infinite plan "all the sons of God shouted 
for joy." (Job. xxxviii, 7.) 

Adam did not retain his sonship. He yielded 
all to Satan, who became "prince" of this 
world; therefore, when the sons of God, the 
heads of the worlds, came together to the throne 
of the universe to meet with the King of Kings, 
Satan, as holding Adam's dominion where he 
went to and fro and walked up and down at 
will, "also came among them." (Job. i, 6; ii, 
1.) The sum of which is this: As Adam, the 
prince and prospective king of this world, was 



36 MELCHIZEDEK 

'^the son of God," so these "sons of God" were 
each of them the king of some world in God's 
universe, and the priest after; the order of 
Melchizedek in that world. 

MELCHIZEDEK, LIKE ADAM, CAME DIRECT 
FROM GOD 

In Heb. vii, 3, Melchizedek is declared to be 
"without father, without mother." An indi- 
vidual without father and mother must of neces- 
sity have come into existence by some other 
way than by birth. We know of but one other 
manner by which men can have existence except 
by birth; that other way is by a special act of 
creation. We have but two individuals of the 
created class belonging to our human family. 
These were Adam and Eve. The latter is 
styled "the mother of all living," which proves 
that our first parents were the only two created 
members of our race. Even Jesus, the Son of 
God, could not become a member of our race 
except by birth, — by becoming the "seed of the 
woman." All others came into existence by 
birth. If we find that Melchizedek came into 
existence by a special creative act on the part 
of Divinity, then we have discovered another in- 
dividual who stands in the same class as Adam, 
a son of God by creative power. 

Without irreverence we can safely say that 
it behooves inspiration to make its own state- 



THE ESSENTIALS 37 

ments clear, to yield its own treasure of truth, 
when in the plan of God the fullness of time has 
come for each particular truth to be unfolded. 
If inspiration does not reveal, then we are left 
to guess at conclusions. 

Now, if we discover that in the same inspired 
sentence which states that Melchizedek did not 
have existence by birth it is declared that he 
came into existence by being created, then God 
has not left us in the dark as to his origin. 

The clause which explains the origin of Mel- 
chizedek reads as follows : ''But made like unto 
the Son of God." First, let other portions of 
Holy Writ interpret these words. In Gen. i, 

26 it is written: "And God said, let us make 
man in our image after our likeness." In verse 

27 we read, "So God created man in His own 
image ; male and female created He them." In 
numerous other instances in the Scriptures the 
term "made" is used in the sense of "create." 
Please notice that in the following Scriptures 
the verbs ''make'' (past tense, "made") and 
''crecite'' are used interchangeably. (John i, 
1-3.) "In the beginning was the Word and 
the Word was with God and the Word was 
God. The same was in the beginning with God. 
All things were made by Him and without Him 
was not anything made that was made.'^ We 
also find the word "made" used in the sense of 



38 MELCHIZEDEK 

"created" in the Fourth Commandment ; arid in 
Heb. i, 2, where, in speaking of Christ as God's 
Agent in the work of creation, we read: "By 
whom also He made the worlds." (See also 
Rev. xiv, 6, 7.) It is, therefore, in perfect ac- 
cord with the Word of God to say that Mel- 
chizedek was a created being, and was essen- 
tially like Adam, a son of God by creative power. 
Another parallel between these two persons 
consists in the fact that they were both created 
in the same image or likeness. Of the one it is 
w^ritten, "And God said, let us make man in our 
image, after our likeness'^; and of the other, 
"but was made like unto the Son of God.^^ In 
Col. i, 15, Christ is declared to be "the image of 
the invisible God," and if we are to take the 
words "all things were made by Him, and with- 
out Him was not anything made that was made" 
as all comprehensive, then we must conclude 
that Christ in conjunction with the Father was 
the Creator of aItL worlds, and of the first man 
of each world. We thus learn that Christ, the 
Creator, made Adam in His own image, after 
His own likeness, and that Melchizedek "was 
made" by Him in His own image, or to quote 
the exact phraseology, ^'like unto the Son of 
God:' 1 

1 The "Emphatic Diaglot" translates this passage: 
"But having been made like to the Son of the God." 



THE ESSENTIALS 39 

Could the parallel be drawn closer in regard 
to the origin and nature of two beings than 
that which the Scriptures themselves draw be- 
tween Adam and Melchizedek? They assuredly 
stand in the same class both by coming into ex- 
istence by creative power and by being made in 
the image or likeness of God. 

Let us now devote our attention to other ex- 
pressions found in Heb. vii, 3. The words 
"without descent" need no explanation, as 
"descent" refers to a fleshly line of ancestry. 
Like Adam, coming directly from the hand of 
God, Melchizedek had no earthly pedigree. 
The expression, "having neither beginning of 
days," will require the same rule of interpreta- 
tion which we apply uniformly and always to 
arrive at Scripture truth, — namely, comparing 
Scripture with Scripture. We have already 
learned that it cannot mean that Melchizedek 
never had beginning of existence, or that his 
existence has always run parallel with Divinity, 
for there must have been a definite time when 
he was ''made like unto the Son of God." 

In Isa. Ixv, 20, we find the expression, "an in- 
fant of days," employed to draw comparison 
between a child and a mature man. Melchize- 
dek did not come into existence as human beings 
who have birth; he was never "an infant of 
days." Adam was never "an infant of days"; 



40 MELCHIZEDEK 

he was without '^beginning of days" as an in- 
fant. Melchizedek did not begin life as do the 
children of the race of Adam and Eve. Like 
Adam, he came into existence in the full stature 
and vigor of manhood both in mind and body, 
and thus did not have "beginning of days" in 
infancy like the members of our race who enter 
life by birth. They both came into existence, 
not to develop as babes, but mature in mind 
and body.^ 

All mature members of our race, with the 
exception of Adam and Eve, had after birth, 
"beginning of days": first one day old, then 
two days old, etc., until they finally reached 
maturity. But Adam, Eve, and Melchizedek, 
coming into being, not by birth, but by crea- 
tion, did not have "beginning of days" in this 
way. They never appeared to be one day old, 
two days old, etc., until in due time they had 
reached maturity. As looked upon by angels 
in creation's morn, the very moment that God 
had formed them and given them "the breath of 
life" they did not seem to be individuals be- 
ginning life as "infants of days," first one day 
old, then two days and so on, but rather, if 
thirty or more years of age was the period in 

2 Melchizedek did not begin his days in our world, or 
as "an infant of days" in his own world. He came here 
a fully matured man. In this sense was he without "be- 
ginning of days." 



THE ESSENTIALS 41 

God's perfect plan in the beginning at which 
human beings reached maturity, they appeared 
to be just that old.^ 

To illustrate, suppose that there was placed 
before us an infant (naturally having "begin- 
ning of days" at birth) two days old, and also 
a man whom God had just created in the full 
stature of manhood. Without knowledge that 
the apparently full grown man had just come 
from the hand of his Creator, if requested to 
express an opinion as to the age of each, we 
would approximate the age of the child at two 
or three days, and of the man at twenty or more 
years. It is manifest that we would be in error 
in regard to the age of the latter. He did not 
have "beginning of days" as a child. He never 
had the accumulation of days of childhood in 
developing into maturity of life. At the point 
of our illustration he was not as old as the in- 
fant. He was just from the hand of his Cre- 
ator, and yet a mature man. 

It seems to the author that it was in this 

sense that Adam, Eve, and Melchizedek were 

without "beginning of days." All of the period 

of beginning life in infancy and then daily 

growth to maturity was supplanted in their ex- 

3 The earliest records of the human family would indi- 
cate that the youngest period at which they began to 
reproduce the species was at the age of sixty-five years. 
(See Gen. v.) 



42 MELCHIZEDEK 

perience by the creative power of God. They 
sprang, as it were, into being, without the ne- 
cessity for a single day's growth in stature to 
reach maturity. 

The next clause of the verse under consider- 
ation reads, "without end of life." This ex- 
pression must mean that Melchizedek is still a 
living, active being. Evidently, however, his 
place of abode is not in our world, — else in the 
course of modern research he would have been 
discovered and brought to light as the most in- 
teresting character of modern times, — ^but be- 
longs to another world, where he reigns, true 
to his title, as priest-king of righteousness and 
peace. When his mission here in Abraham's 
day was ended, he joined his own people in a 
sinless world where, according to the last 
clause of verse '3, "he abideth a priest con- 
tinually." 

Another link in the chain which lends its 
weight of evidence in supporting the theory 
that heads of worlds are all priest-kings, who 
bear the title of Melchizedek, is found in the 
parallel which exists between Adam, Melchize- 
dek, and Christ, each in a peculiar sense being 
sons of God by a special creative act, indica- 
ting that high-priesthood after the order of 
Melchizedek and sonship in this special sense are 
equivalent in significance. Thus in Luke iii, 38, 



THE ESSENTIALS 48 

Adam IS declared to be the son of God, — and 
this, of course, not by birth, but by creative 
power ; and as a son of God he was made in the 
likeness of God. We have already learned that 
Melchizedek was a created being, and hence a 
son of God by creation, and that he was made 
in the likeness of, or "like unto, the son of 
God." In Heb. i, 5, it is written of Christ that 
in the day that He was begotten again, or raised 
from the dead, He was declared to be the Son 
of God. To this fact other Scriptures bear 
testimony, and are even more lucid and force- 
ful. In speaking of the sonship of Christ in 
Rom. i, 4, it is stated that He was "declared to 
be the Son of God with power ... by the res- 
urrection form the dead." The same power, by 
special creative act, brought Adam and Mel- 
chizedek into existence and brought Christ from 
the dead, and made them each a son of God. 
(See also Ps. ii, 7 and Acts xiii, 32-34.) 

In Heb. iii, 1, Christ is declared to be "the 
Apostle and High Priest of our profession"; 
and in verse 6 the declaration is made that "He 
is a Son over His own house." (Or as in Eph. ii, 
19, "household.") Adam would still have been 
the preeminent son of God, with the entire world 
as his family or household, had he not lost all 
by the fall; and in consequence of his failure, 
Jehovah said unto His "first-begotten" Son: 



44 MELCHIZEDEK 

"Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, a 
scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy 
kingdom." (Heb. i, 8.) It is, therefore, clear 
that sonship, kingship, and high priesthood are 
vested in the class of beings to which Adam, 
Melchizedek, and Christ belong. We find even 
a closer parallel in the matter of sonship and 
the Melchizedek priesthood in Heb. v, 5, 6, ref- 
erence to which will show that in the day that 
Christ was declared to be a Son of God by be- 
ing begotten (from the dead, as already 
proven). He was also declared to be a Priest 
forever after the order of Melchizedek. Thus 
the declaration of His sonship and priesthood 
after the order of Melchizedek are coincident. 
In fact. He could not in the plan of God, laid 
in the fullness of Divine wisdom, become our 
High Priest, our King, until He had become a 
member of our human family by birth and had 
in the weakness of humanity triumphed where 
the first Adam failed and paid the full penalty 
for all that was lost in the fall. 

Dean Alford, conceded to be one of the high- 
est authorities on New Testament Greek, com- 
ments on the expressions, "without father, 
without mother, without descent," thus: — 

**The latter of these three expressions seems^ in- 
deed, to represent a simple matter of fact: namely, 



THE ESSENTIALS 45 

that Melchizedek has not in Genesis any genealogy 
recorded by which his descent is shown. But as 
to the two former^ it cannot well be denied that, 
while they also may bear a similar sense: viz., that 
no father or mother of his are recorded in the sa- 
cred narrative, it is very possible on the other 
hand to feel that the writer would hardly have 
introduced them so solemnly . . . unless he had 
coupled them with far higher ideas than the for- 
mer supposition implies. I confess this feeling 
to be present in my own mind; indeed, I feel that 
such solemn words seem to me to decide against 
that other supposition." 

On the expression, "beginning of days nor 
end of life," he says, "Some commentators think 
these refer to priestly life," but adds : — 

''They can hardly be understood of anything but 
his natural life, especially as following the Greek 
term techillah, and in the presence of the general 
biblical usage of the Greek word used here, which 
has the significance of a man's life-time. Accord- 
ingly, most expositors take the words in this their 
natural sense.** 

Opposing the theory of these expressions re- 
ferring to his priestly life, he continues : — 

"Again, however, no one, I think, can help feel- 
ing that such an interpretation is, in fact, no 



4« MELCHIZEDEK 

worthy acceptation of these solemn words of the 
Sacred Writer." 



On the words, "abideth a priest forever," we 
quote from the same high authority: — 

"The expression is one that in each case must 
be interpreted by the context in which it occurs. 
There is no reason why here_, when an eternal 
priesthood is in question, it should mean for life: 
indeed^ such meaning would be absurd^ seeing that 
all were priests for life. Such an interpretation 
too would not agree with the Greek term employed. 

"All kinds of ways have been devised to escape 
the plain assertion of these words. . . . But thus, 
type and antitype are hopelessly confounded. . . . 
Everything shows that which has been maintained 
all through this difficult passage, that the asser- 
tions made, and this chief one above all is made 
('abideth a priest continually') simply of Mel- 
chizedek; and they are, as matters of fact, inferred 
and laid down by the Sacred Writer from the his- 
toric notices of him. What further is implied from 
such dignity being here put on Melchizedek? Cer- 
tainly no interpretation which can in any way in- 
terfere with Christ's eternal priesthood can he cor- 
rect. It is one of those things in which we . . . 
must take simply and trustingly the plain sense of 
our Bibles on a deep and mysterious subject, and 
leave it for a day when all shall be clear to give 
us full revelation on this theme." 



THE ESSENTIALS 47 

From SchafTs translation from the German 
of J. P. Lange's commentaries on the Epistles, 
on the expression, ^'without father, without 
mother, having neither beginning of days, nor 
end of llfe,'^ we quote the following:— 

"Neither is the language to be restricted to the 
beginning of his priesthood (see also Camero, Seb. 
Schmidt^ Limb.^ Kuin^ Hofm) inasmuch as per- 
sonally he has been made the type of the Son of 
God." 

Continuing he says: — 

**Melchizedek appears as a king in relations 
which at once associate him with Righteousness 
and with Peace^ as priest of the Most High God 
in the midst of idolatrous communities^ and as 
blessing and receiving tithes from Abraham^ the 
spiritual heir of the world. ... A personage so 
great and so remarkable is^ contrary to all the 
usage of the sacred history^ — which is generally 
very studious and exact in giving the lineage of its 
important personages^ and usually notices alike 
their birth and their death^ — passed over without 
a solitary intimation as to his lineage or family re- 
lations^ as to his birth or his death." 

Again : — 

'*We must remember that the sacred historian is 
generally very studious to give the lineage of all 



48 MELCHIZEDEK 

the sacred persons with whom he has to do^ and 
almost invariably signalizes the fact of their death. 
Here we have a singular and marked exception. 
Melchizedek^ evidently by the relations in which he 
appears in Genesis one of the most extraordinary 
men of sacred history, is yet passed over without 
one gleam of light shed on the darkness either of 
his past or his future. He thus stands on the sa- 
cred page amidst a narrative^ which in its faithful 
record of births and deaths seems intended to il- 
lustrate the truth that 'Death reigneth from Adam 
to Moses/ as one who liveth, I have no wish, 
therefore, to derogate in the least from the depth 
of our author's meaning, or from the dignity and 
the mystery that invest the person of Melchizedek, 
or to reduce him to the prosaic level of ordinary 
humanity." 

In Hebrews vii, 2, 3, there are nine specifica- 
tions concerning Melchizedek, each of which 
pertains to one who was created to be the head 
of a world. This is clearly proven by the fact 
that all of these particulars would have applied 
in every detail to Adam, had he not forfeited 
his right to be the head of our world, and lost 
his place in the Melchizedek priesthood by the 
fall. Perhaps these nine points of likeness can 
be seen to best advantage if presented in paral- 
lel columns. This comparison adds material 
strength to the position taken by the author. 



THE ESSENTIALS 

MELCHIZEDEK 



49 



ADAM 



1. "Without father/' 

2. "without mother/' 



3. "without descent/' 

4. "having neither be- 

ginning of days/' 

5. "nor end of life"; 



1. Without father^ 

2. without mother^ by 
birth ; 

3. without descent, 

4. without beginning of 
days^ as a child^ 

5. he would have been 
without end of life, 

6. "but made like unto 6. he was made (cre- 
the Son of God"; ated) like unto the 

Son of God; 

7. "abideth a priest 7. a priest in perpetu- 
continually." ity, 

8. "King of righteous- 8. a King of righteous- 
ness . . ." ness, and 

9. "King of peace." 9. a King of peace, had 

he not lost all in the 
dire calamity of the 
faU. 



Therefore, by these nine points of identifica- 
tion Melchizedek was, without doubt, a being in 
the same class as Adam, and as Christ stepped 
into Adam's forfeited place. He thus became the 
Melchizedek of our world. 

And, furthermore, giving credit to the apostle 
Paul (at least, when speaking under inspira- 
tion) of employing language which would carry 
the exact meaning which he intended to convey. 



60 MELCmZEDEK 

or rather that the Lord desired to have con- 
veyed, how could any Canaanitish priest, or for 
that matter any member of our race, aside from 
Christ and Adam, fill the specifications of the 
third verse of the seventh chapter of Hebrews, 
which declares that Melchizedek had neither 
father nor mother, descent nor end of life. If, 
as some say (although they thereby do violence 
to the Scriptures), that the inspired writer 
meant to say, "We have no record of his father 
and mother or of his death," how easy it would 
have been for him to have said so! And what 
a slur some thus cast upon inspiration by not 
admitting that the Holy Ghost is capable of ex- 
pressing in words its intended meaning, and by 
not accepting the exact statements of Scrip- 
ture, even though they may not comprehend the 
subject. It is always better to candidly admit 
ignorance of a Bible theme and occupy an at- 
titude of waiting for additional light than^tp 
do violence to the inspired Word. 

All of the effort of inspiration to put em- 
phasis upon the fact that Melchizedek was an 
exalted character, occupying a unique position 
above all members of our race except the first 
and "last" Adams, is lost upon us unless we 
agree with the inspired statements that he was 
literally without father and mother by birth; 
that, coming directly from the hand of God, 



THE ESSENTIALS 51 

he had no descent ; that he never died, but was 
"made (created) like unto the Son of God,'' 
and "abideth a priest in perpetuity." Such a 
conception, or rather accepting by faith that 
which is written, does no violence to the Word 
of God, and at the same time makes clear one 
of the mysteries of the ages. 

In fact, a most emphatic denial is made in 
verse eight of the positiq^ taken by some that 
"Paul meant to be understood that we have no 
record of 4iis antecedents, his descent and his 
death." This verse reads: "Here men that 
die receive tithes, but there he receiveth them 
of whom it is witnessed that he liv^th.'' It is 
thus clear that the contrast is sharply drawn, 
not between men whose record we may or may 
not have, but between men who die and one who 
did not die. This Melchizedek order is com- 
posed of deathless individuals, and hence the 
close parallel between Christ and Melchizedek. 
(See also verses 15-17, 23, 24.) ^ 

In further identification of the ^'order^^ of 

4 In order to demonstrate the strange interpretations 
sometimes given of Heb. vii, 3, I will raise the following 
question: Does an inspired argument have an added 
force in our minds over an uninspired statement? Some 
tell us that the inspired writer of the verse under con- 
sideration intended to convey the meaning that he did 
not know or had no record of the father, mother, pedi- 
gree, the beginning or the ending of the life of Melchize- 
dek. What would we say of an uninspired writer who 



52 MELCHIZEDEK 

priesthood called the Melchizedek, let us consider 
God's original plan for the high priesthood of 
this world. In whom was this office vested? In 
the patriarchal dispensation from Adam to 
Moses the priesthood was vested in the father 
of each family ; hence the name of the dispensa- 
tion is derived from patra, meaning father. 
Naturally then, Adam was the first priest of 
this world, and by right its high priest. He 
would have retained an endless, unchangeable 
priesthood if he had not surrendered the ruler- 
ship of the world to the usurper. Because of 
this surrender, Adam lost his priesthood and 

could not find language to express his meaning more 
clearly ? 

Let us test the out-working of such interpretations of 
Scripture. A new leader of the Moroccan forces in 
North Africa, one El Hiba, has recently arisen from 
utter obscurity. In our ignorance of his parentage, date 
of birth, pedigree, etc., suppose that we should say that 
"he is without father, without mother, without descent, 
without beginning of days, without end of life.'* Would 
our lack of knowledge of his origin, pedigree, etc., jus- 
tify us in saying that "he is without parentage, date of 
birth, and end of life"? Would not our expressing our- 
selves in such terms to indicate our lack of data demon- 
strate shameful ignorance in the use of human language, 
and amount to absolute folly? Shall we accuse the 
apostle of imbecility when speaking under inspiration of 
the Holy Spirit? This is exactly what we do when we 
say that "he intended to be understood to mean that we 
have no record of the parentage, pedigree, and end of 
life of Melchizedek, when he said that he was "without 



THE ESSENTIALS 53 

Satan became "the prince of this world" ; but 
he did not thus become the Melchizedek of our 
human family, for in character he is the direct 
opposite of the King of Righteousness and of 
King of Peace. His seat of government 
is more fittingly described by the term "Baby- 
lon," — confusion, than by "Salem," — peace. 

Conceding that all worlds in space are not 
created in vain and are, therefore, inhabited 
(see Isa. xlv, 18), each planet would naturally 
have its Melchizedek: that is, its representative, 
its everlasting father, its high priest. 

father, without mother, without descent, without begin- 
ning of days, nor end of life." 

But those who thus attribute imbecility to inspiration 
are still baffled to explain the expressions, "made like 
unto the Son of God," — "abideth a priest continually." 

Such tactics if conceded, would make it an utter im- 
possibility to prove any essential to the plan of re- 
demption by the inspired Book. If the strongest proof - 
texts that can be given can be turned aside with the re- 
mark that "the Scriptures do not convey the meaning 
that the language employed would indicate," then all 
Scripture evidence is worthless. 

I am profoundly thankful that there is no necessity 
for resorting to the art of juggling to explain any por- 
tion of the Sacred Volume. Any position which must be 
sustained by this method is manifestly incorrect. When 
we find the true solution to any difficult text, we shall 
see that inspiration is thoroughly capable of choosing 
language to clearly convey its meaning. The difficulties 
of the text under observation all disappear when we 
give the inspired writer due credit in his choice of terms 
to express certain truths concerning Melchizedek. 



54 MELCHIZEDEK 

When our world had lost its rightful repre- 
sentative, its father, its high priest, its Mel- 
chizedek, it was not left by the Creator in this 
sad condition. Its Representative, its Ever- 
lasting Father, its High Priest, in a word its 
Melchizedek, was immediately foreshadowed in 
the institution of the sacrificial service, which 
for 4000 years focused upon the second or "last 
Adam." Yet during this period Satan had ac- 
cess to heaven as the representative of this 
world. (Rev. xii, 10; Job. i, 6.) There are 
doubtless appointed times when the representa- 
tives, the priests "after the order of Melchize- 
dek" from all unfallen worlds in this universe, 
joyfully assemble in heaven to worship the Cre- 
ator. Such occasions are clearly indicated in 
the first and second chapters of the book of 
Job. (Chapters i, 6, and ii, 1.) That the indi- 
viduals here mentioned as "sons of God" were 
representatives of their respective planets is 
indicated by the fact that in the interview be- 
tween Jehovah and Satan the latter is conceded 
to have been the representative of our earth, — 
a position which he wrested from Adam, and 
thereby became "the prince of this world." 
(Jno. xii, 31.) As additional evidence that 
these "sons of God" were the heads (the Mel- 
chizedeks) of other worlds, it is worth while to 
note that in designating Adam as the first man 



THE ESSENTIALS 55 

of this world, he is also called "the son of God.'' 
(Luke iii, 38.) 

One of the most forceful evidences that Adam 
would have been the high priest (the Melchize- 
dek) of this world, had he not sinned, is found 
in the fact that until Christ was born into the 
world as a member of our human family, and 
became sin's sacrifice and through the cross Sa- 
tan's conqueror. He did not become our 
High Priest after the order of Melchizedek." 
But, coincident with his becoming our Melchiz- 
edek, He became the second or "last Adam." 
(Heb. ii, 16, 17 ; vi, 19, 20 ; I Cor. xv, 45.) The 
logical conclusion is that, had Adam retained 
his sinless state, he would have been "a priest 
after the order of Melchizedek," and, therefore, 
that this "order" is composed of representatives 
of worlds who were created and given do- 
minion over their respective spheres, as Adam 
was created and placed over the planet known 
to us by the name "earth." 

Christ came into this world to be our Priest- 
King, our Melchizedek, which title, interpreted, 
is King of righteousness, and King of His own 
city of peace; for, in prophetically announcing 
the capital of Christ's future kingdom, it is 
said that "the name of the City from that day 
shall be, the Lord is there." (Ezek. xlviii, 35 ; 
Zech. vi, 13, 14 ; Rev. xxi, 1-6.) And this mean- 



56 MELCHIZEDEK 

ing will be given to no other city in the universe, 
as the tabernacle of Jehovah will be with men 
and He will dwell with them. To the inhabi- 
tants of all worlds in space, whenever the name 
"Jerusalem" is spoken it will have a distinct 
meaning, — Jehovah's dwelling place. Thus the 
minds of all creatures in the universe will be 
focused upon the name and dwelling place of 
Jehovah. 

The one who holds place in the Melchiz- 
edek priesthood must also be a father of those 
over whom he is priest, — father under God, even 
as he is king under God. Thus Adam was to 
be the father of all who populated this world. 
Every one among all this world's millions would 
call him father. From him would they receive 
life, disposition, character. God created Adam 
after His own likeness and image. (Gen. i, 26, 
27.) "Adam . . . begat a son in his own like- 
ness, after his image." (Gen. vi, 13.) He gave 
of his own life to all his children, and had he 
remained holy all would have been blessed in him. 
To him they would have always looked for 
counsel and blessing, and he would have been to 
them a minister of the life-blessings of God. 
But he failed. Sin perverted the image of God 
in him, and turned his blessings into curses ; his 
life became death. His children became the 
children of sin, obedient to the prince of the 



THE ESSENTIALS 57 

power of the air, — to Satan, the spirit of evil. 
Then the Son of God, the Creator of the uni- 
verse under God, the Father of all the peopled 
spheres, stepped down from His high estate to 
save the one lost world. He must become its 
second head, its second Adam. He must pour 
out Himself; He must become flesh, must over- 
come in the weakness of the flesh where Adam 
failed in its strength, and so become the second 
Father to the race, saved to all eternity. After 
recounting His humiliation. His taking upon 
Himself our nature in all respects. His praying 
and crying with tears, the record continues: 
"And having been made perfect. He became 
unto all them that obey Him the author (the 
Beginner, the Father) of eternal salvation; 

NAMED OF GOD A HIGH PRIEST AFTER THE OR- 
DER OF MELCHIZEDEK." (Heb. V, 9, 10.) 

And so all those who are Christ's are born from 
above (John iii, 3-5), living stones of the Living 
Stone (I Pet. ii, 4, 5), children of the Life- 
giving Spirit of the second Adam, bearing the 
image of the Heavenly (I Cor. xvi, 45-49) 

EVERLASTING FATHER, priuCC of pcaCC. (Isa. ix, 

6.) The winning of the right to be the Father 
of this world was not completed till Christ died 
upon the cross and rose again. In the Mel- 
chizedek priesthood of this world there was con- 
ferred upon Him for this world's sake both the 



58 MELCHIZEDEK 

sonship of God and the fatherhood of the race. 
His relation to the King of the Universe is that 
of Son; His relation to the children of the 
world who turn from sin is that of Father. 
Thus he became the most mighty of advocates, 
the most merciful and helpful of priests: our 
Advocate with the Father, — His own Son; our 
Savior and Helper, our eternal Father-priest. 

The significance of "father" is, "possessing 
power to beget and to sustain life in his off- 
spring ; the founder of a race or family." Adam 
would have been the "everlasting father" of our 
human family had he not by sin forfeited the 
right, and lost the power to impart everlasting 
life to his posterity. He so far lost the powers 
essential to everlasting fatherhood that he could 
not perpetuate his own existence, and instead 
of imparting to his children eternal life, they 
inherited from him death. Jesus Christ, "who 
is our life" (the founder of our family), took 
upon Himself the everlasting fatherhood of His 
children. Thus, when His everlasting kingdom 
is established as set forth in the text (Isa. ix, 
6), He occupies the position lost by Adam as 
"Everlasting Father." 

What a wonderful thought it is that He who 
was the highest of all left the highest and un- 
dertook the forlorn hope of this poor, lost, sin- 
sick world, coming clear down to the lowest 



THE ESSENTIALS 69 

depths of death and nothingness, and then by 
the fullness of the power of His righteous char- 
acter ascending far up through and above all 
things a conqueror, that He might fill every 
vacancy in the universe which sin has made! 
(Eph. iv, 9, 10.) But when He ascended on 
high He took with Him, and takes with Him, 
into the heavenlles, a redeemed humanity. 
(Eph. iv, 8; ii, 4-7.) And in all the ages to 
come the praise of the glory of the grace of our 
great High Priest will shine forth in those re- 
deemed from sin and death (Eph. iii, 9-11); 
so that where sin reigned and reveled in curses, 
woe, and misery, even putting to death the Son 
of God, there shall the throne of God be estab- 
lished, — the dwelling-place and center of Jeho- 
vah's dominion to all eternity, — covering all the 
evil attempts of Satan with the eternal, never- 
fading glory of the kingdom of our God and of 
His Christ. (Rev. xxi, 1-6; xxii, 1-3.) 

Another essential of the Melchizedek priest- 
hood is an endless life. The Levitical priests 
were made "after the law of the carnal [fleshly] 
commandment." The priests were men who 
died. However righteous and able one might 
be, like Jehoiada of old, he could help men only 
for a little while during his life; then he gave 
way to a successor. Not so with the priest 
after the order of Melchizedek. It was said 



60 MELCHIZEDEK 

of Christ that His priesthood was "after the 
power of an endless [indissoluble] life ; for it is 
witnessed of Him, Thou art a priest forever 
after the order of Melchizedek." (Heb. vii, 16, 
17.) The endless ("indissoluble") life is an 
essential of that priesthood. Therefore, it is 
said of the Melchizedek whom Abraham met 
(and it is true of every other Melchizedek) 
that so far as the human is concerned he is 
without father, without mother, having "no be- 
ginning of days," a full matured father-priest 
in the very beginning, direct from the hand of 
God. 

What hope and strength and comfort is there 
in this : "For the law" [which made the Levit- 
ical priests, Heb. vii, 19] "made nothing per- 
fect"; but the bringing of the "better hope" 
in the priesthood of the endless life does make 
perfect, "because He abideth forever," and 
"hath His priesthood unchangeable." Where- 
fore also He is able to save to the uttermosf^ 
["completely," in quantity and quality of 
time] "them that draw near unto God through 
Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession 
for them. For such a high priest" [after the 
order of Melchizedek] "became us, holy, guile- 
less, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made 
higher than the heavens ; who needeth not daily, 
like those high priests, to oifer up sacrifices, 



THE ESSENTIALS 61 

first for his own sins, and then for the sins of 
the people; for this He did once for all, when 
He offered up Himself. For the law appoint- 
eth men high priests, having infirmity; but the 
word of the oath, which was after the law, 
appointeth a Son, perfected forevermore.'' 
(Heb. vii, 24-28, A. R. V.) 

The priest after the law could transmit to his 
son no higher life than he himself possessed, — 
a mortal life. He could give to the people not 
even this life ; but one Melchizedek priest can 
transmit and does transmit to all His sons (and 
if we receive Him we are sons: John i, 12; I 
John i, 1-3) the everlasting life, which in right- 
eousness becomes the "indissoluble" life, and so 
makes them under Him "kings and priests unto 
God and His Father ; to Him be glory and do- 
minion forever and ever." (Rev. i, 6.) 

In its fullest sense the Melchizedek priesthood 
is an everlasting priesthood. Note the contrast 
between the earthly and the Melchizedek priest- 
hood: "And they indeed have been made 
priests," many in number, because that by death 
they are hindered from continuing; but He, 
"because He abideth forever, hath His priest- 
hood unchangeable" [because always a son of 
God, always a father, always a king of right- 
eousness]. "Wherefore also He is able to save 
to the uttermost" ["completely," not merely as 



68 MELCHIZEDEK 

regards quantity or magnitude, but as regards 
time~\ "them that draw near unto God through 
Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession 
for them." (Heb. vii, 16-25.) 

If any one thing is made a certainty by the 
forceful language of the apostle in Hebrews vii, 
it is that the Melchizedek order of priesthood 
is eternal. It is composed of individuals who 
"have the power of an endless life" and thus of 
perpetual priesthood. This being true, what 
must we conclude with reference to the Melchiz- 
edek who met and blessed Abraham.'^ There is 
but one logical conclusion, — he was not a mem- 
ber of our human family, for "here men 
that die receive tithes ; but there he receiveth 
them of whom it is witnessed that he liveth,^^ 
(Heb. vii, 8.) In this fallen world a perpetual 
priesthood vested in a single individual has al- 
ways been an impossibility "by reason of 
death." 

He whose hope is anchored in the Melchize- 
dek of God has an everlasting father of ever- 
lasting love, everlasting mercy, everlasting 
sympathy, everlasting riches of grace, everlast- 
ing power of help, everlasting life to give. 
Praise God for His everlasting priesthood. 
Yet this is God's glorious plan for every sen- 
tient being. O soul, trust in the everlasting 
Helper. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 

"Those priests were made without an oath, but this 
with an oath. For the law maketh men high priests which 
have infirmity; but the word of the oath which was since 
the law maketh the Son, who is consecrated forever- 
more." (Heb. vii, n, 28.) 

In the mind of the author one of the over- 
whelming proofs of the position taken that the 
Melchizedek order of priesthood is composed of 
individuals who occupy positions as priest- 
kings of worlds is found in the 110th Psalm. 

In approaching our study of this Psalm, 
which casts a flood of light upon our theme, 
it may be well to observe, that careful investi- 
gation of the entire volume of Scriptures written 
prior to the production of the Epistle to the 
Hebrews will reveal the fact that only twice is 
the title "Melchizedek" recorded: — once in Gen. 
xiv, 18, where it is applied to the person who 
met and blessed Abraham, and again in Psa. 
ex, 4, where it undoubtedly has application to 
Christ. 

In Heb. vii, 28, it is stated that there was a 
law concerning succession in the Aaronic priest- 
hood which made men high priests who possessed 

63 



64j MELCHIZEDEK 

infirmities, "but the word of the oath, which 
was since the law, maketh the son [high 
priest] WHO is consecrated forevermore." ^ 

THIS PRIESTHOOD CAME OF GOD AND WAS 
RATIFIED BY AN OATH 

The priests of the house of Levi exercised 
their office after "the law of a carnal command- 
ment." They assumed it, not because espe- 
cially summoned to the work by the voice of 
heaven, but because they had sprung from the 
special sacerdotal tribe. The priesthood of 
Christ, on the other hand, is God's best gift to 
men, — to thee, my reader, and to me : more neces- 
sary than food, or light, or air. Without it 
our souls would wander ever in a Sahara des- 
ert. 

And such was the solemnity of His appoint- 
ment that it was ratified by "the word of the 
oath." Here is strong consolation indeed. No 
unfaithfulness or ingratitude can change this 
priesthood. The eternal God will never run 
back from that word and oath. "Eternity" is 
written upon the High Priest's brow ; "forever- 
more" rings out from the chime of His golden 

1 It is a matter of peculiar interest that Jehovah placed 
Himself under oath concerning two things. One was to 
give to Abraham and his seed the kingdom of this world, 
and the other, to provide a King for the world-kingdom. 
(Gen. xxii, 15-19; xxvi, 3, 4; Rom. iv, 13; Psa. ex, 4, and 
cv, 9.) 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 65 

bells as He moves ; "an unchangeable priest- 
hood" IS the law of His glorious being. Halle- 
lujah! The heart may well sing when, amid 
the fluctuation of earth's changes, it touches 
at length the primeval rock of God's eternal 
purpose. He is "consecrated" a priest "for- 
evermore." 

THIS PRIESTHOOD WAS SUPERIOR TO ALL 
HUMAN ORDERS OF PRIESTS 

If ever there were a priesthood which held 
undisputed supremacy among the priesthoods 
of this world it was that of Aaron's line. It 
might not be as ancient as that which ministered 
at the shrines of Nineveh ... or in the silent 
cloisters of Memphis and Thebes ; but it had 
about it this unapproachable dignity, in that 
it had emanated as a whole from the Word of 
God. Yet even the Aaronic must yield obei- 
sance to the Melchizedek priesthood. And it 
did. For Levi was yet in the loins of Abraham 
when Melchizedek met him; and he paid tithes 
in Abraham, and knelt in token of submission, 
in the person of the patriarch, beneath the 
blessing of this greater than himself. (Heb. 
vii, 4-10.) 

INSPIRATION IN THE SETTING OF THE OATH 

Not only is the tJiought of Scripture in- 
spired, but there is also an evident touch of in- 



66 MELCHIZEDEK 

spiration in the logical arrangement or setting 
of Jehovah's thoughts in His Word. This fact 
is full of significance in our study of the text 
of the oath by which Jesus is made a High 
Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 

Now if our position is well taken, may we 
not expect to find the original oath in such a 
setting as will indicate that it will not go into 
full effect, — become fully operative, — until 
Christ takes possession of this world as its 
rightful King? And, if we find the original 
oath by which He is made of Jehovah a Priest 
forever after the order of Melchizedek, in just 
such a setting, will this fact not be a strong link 
in the chain of proof that the position herein 
taken is the correct solution to the question as 
to what office Christ will fill by being made a 
High Priest in the Melchizedek order? In the 
mind of the writer, the establishing of this fact 
will supply proof beyond controversy that the 
Melchizedek order of priesthood is composed 
of persons designed by Jehovah to be eternal 
heads and kings of worlds ; for, if Christ be- 
comes a Priest after that order by becoming 
the Head and King of this world, then the logic 
is that all heads of worlds are priests in the 
same order. 

Why should the eternal God of truth choose 
in this special instance to put Himself under 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 67 

oath? Surely not to make the fulfillment of 
His promise more iCertain in His own plan 
or in His own mind, but rather to give empha- 
sis to the promise comprehended in the text of 
the oath, and thereby rivet the attention of 
His people upon the promise. This thought is 
confirmed by the following inspired words found 
in Heb. vi, 16-20: "For men verily swear by 
the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to 
them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing 
more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of prom- 
ise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed 
it by an oath: that by two immutable things, 
in which it was impossible for God to lie, we 
might have a strong consolation, who have fled 
for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before 
us: which hope we have as an anchor of the 
soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enter- 
eth into that within the veil. Whither the fore- 
runner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an 
High Priest forever after the order of Mel- 
chizedek." 

If in our study of the oath in its original 
and inspired setting we find that it is to go 
into full effect only when Christ takes posses- 
sion of this world as its rightful King, then 
we are again driven to the conclusion that the 
Melchizedek order of priesthood is composed of 
those who are priest-kings of worlds. 



68 MELGHIZEDEK 

Before turning to the Psalm wherein the oath 
is recorded, let us note Dr. Adam Clark's com- 
ment on this marvelous Psalm. He says: 

**This Psalm [ex] is short in appearance^ but 
deep and copious in mysteries. The subject with- 
out doubt is Christ. (See Acts ii^ 34; Heb. i, 13; 
Heb. x^ 12, 13; Matt, xxii, 44.) In the latter 
text Christ applies it to Himself. While all have 
acknowledged that this Psalm is of the utmost im- 
portance, and that it speaks of Christ's priesthood 
and victories, it is amazing how various are the 
interpretations which are given of its different 
passages. 

"It has, however, appeared to me that there is a 
key by which all the difficulties of the Psalm may 
be unlocked." 

We concur that before Christ comes back to 
earth and the prophecy embraced in the oath 
is fulfilled God's people ought to obtain the key 
to unlock the treasure-house of this Messianic 
Psalm. 

Now, preliminary to our verse-by-verse study, 
let us read the Psalm. 

"The Lord [Jehovah] said unto my Lord, Sit 
thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies 
thy footstool. 

The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength 
out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine 
enemies. 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 69 

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy 
power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb 
of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. 

The Lord [Jehovah] hath sworn, and will not 
repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order 
of Melchizedek. 

The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through 
kings in the day of His wrath. 

He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill 
the places with dead bodies; he shall wound the 
heads over many countries. 

He shall drink of the brook in the way: there- 
fore shall he lift up the head." 

That Christ ascended up on high and took a 
position at the right hand of the Father when 
He had finished His earthly ministry as set forth 
in the first clause of verse 1 (Heb. x, 12, 13) 
needs no proof to any Bible student ; therefore, 
we will not consume time by supplying Scrip- 
ture proof of this fact. But the next expres- 
sion is not so clear to all. When do Christ's 
enemies become His footstool? Jehovah de- 
clares, "The heaven is my throne, and the 
earth is my footstool." (Isa. Ixvi, 1.) Is there 
to be a time, according to the Scriptures, when 
Christ's enemies are to be made a part of His 
footstool, or are to be reduced to the physical 
material of which the earth is composed.^ Let 
a few Scriptures out of the multitude of refer- 



70 MELCHIZEDEK 

ences which might be cited supply the answer. 
Jeremiah declares (chapter xxiii, 5), "Behold, 
the days come, saith the Lord, when I will raise 
unto David a righteous Branch, and a king 
shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judg- 
ment and justice in the earth/' Luke asserts 
(chapter i, 32) that the throne of David will 
be given to Christ, and Jesus declares Himself 
to be "the root and the offspring of David." 
(Rev. xxii, 16.) In the parable of the sower 
(Matt, xiii, 24-43), Christ Himself explains the 
manner in which this world, called the "field" 
in the parable, will be prepared for the setting 
up of His eternal kingdom. He says (Matt, 
xiii, 41-43) : "The Son of Man shall send forth 
His angels, and they shall gather out of His 
Kingdom all things that offend, and them which 
do iniquity ; and shall cast them into a furnace 
of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of 
teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as 
the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who 
hath ears to hear, let him hear." 

The same truths concerning the preparation 
of this world for the kingdom of Christ are set 
forth in the parable of the nobleman who went 
away to receive for himself a kingdom and to 
return. (Luke xix, 12, 27.) 

The prophet Malachi bears definite testimony 
concerning the time when the enemies of our 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 71 

Lord will become a part of His footstool, pre- 
paratory to the setting up of His kingdom. 
He says: "Behold, the day cometh that shall 
burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea all 
that do iniquity, shall be stubble, and the day 
that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord 
of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root 
nor branch. And they shall he ashes under the 
soles of your feet, saith the Lord, for ye shall 
tread down the wicked in the day that I do this, 
saith the Lord of Hosts." (Mai. iv, 1, 3.) 

Surely when, in the literal fulfillment of the 
prophecy, the wicked are reduced to non-sen- 
tient ashes and in this condition are trodden 
under foot, the enemies of the Lord form a part 
of His footstool, and the prophecies will then 
go into full effect, which declare: "And I saw 
in the night visions, and, behold, one like the 
Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and 
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought 
Him near before Him, and there was given Him 
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations, and languages should serve 
Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away, and His kingdom 
that which shall not be destroyed." (Dan. vii, 
13, 14.) "And there were great voices in 
heaven, saying. The kingdoms of this world are 
become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His 



72 MELCHIZEDEK 

Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever." 
(Rev. XI, 15.) 

Thus we have in the first verse of this Mes- 
sianic Psalm the clearest possible evidence that 
the oath by which Christ is made our "High 
Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" 
goes into full effect when He takes possession 
of the world as His eternal kingdom of glory, 
for although He is both Priest and King now, 
yet the oath will never go into full effect till He 
takes possession of His kingdom, (v, 4.) 

Let us now see if the remainder of the Psalm 
corresponds with this interpretation. The sec- 
ond verse reads : "The Lord shall send the rod 
of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the 
midst of thine enemies." 

When does the Lord send the rod of His 
strength out of Zion, and rule in the midst of 
His enemies ? According to Revelation xx, 7-9, 
after the millennial period has passed and Zion 
the City of God, the New Jerusalem, has de- 
scended to the earth, for "a little season," Christ 
rules in His capital city, literally in the midst 
of His enemies. He then sends the rod of His 
strength out of Zion, and the results which fol- 
low are described as follows: "Thou shalt 
break them" [the wicked] "with a rod of iron; 
Thou shalt dash them in pieces as a potter's 
vessel." (Psa. ii, 9.) 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 73 

"And He shall rule them with a rod of iron ; 
as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to 
shivers ; even as I have received of My Father." 
(Rev. ii, 26, 27.) 

And lastly : "Fire came down from God out 
of heaven and devoured them." (Rev. xx, 9.) 

It is an essential preliminary to the setting 
up of Christ's eternal kingdom that He send 
forth His angels and gather out of the terri- 
tory of His realm "all things that offend and 
them that do iniquity" and "cast them into a 
furnace of fire." Thus we discover that the 
oath is in a setting which proves that it goes 
into full effect when Christ's enemies are com- 
pletely overthrown. 

Doubtless the term "rod" is equivalent to 
"the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word 
of God." He spake and the world was created; 
"Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that 
with it He should smite the nations ;" "With 
the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked." 

Verse 3 of the Psalm under consideration 
next claims our attention: "Thy people shall 
be willing in the day of Thy power; in the 
beauty of holiness from the womb of the morn- 
ing; thou hast the dew of thy youth." 

The first question on this verse that naturally 
suggests itself is, "What is meant by the ex- 
pression, 'the day of thy power'.?" The day 



74 MELCHIZEDEK 

of God's power, in contrast with the day of His 
mercy or grace, can have no other meaning in 
this connection than that day when He takes 
the power which rightly belongs to Him, de- 
stroys His enemies, and reigns supreme ; when 
Satan and His followers are dethroned for ev- 
ermore. This is in harmony with Rev. xi, 17, 
which reads : "We give thee thanks, O Lord 
God Almighty, because thou hast taken to thee 
thy great power, and hast reigned." 

"Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy 
power." 

This doubtless means that the children of the 
kingdom will be willing then, that the wicked 
shall be destroyed, for the destruction of the 
ungodly is the subject under consideration. 
No one who has the Spirit of Christ in his heart 
is willing now, while mercy lingers and there is 
hope of salvation, that the vast hosts of the 
wicked shall be smitten with eternal death. But 
when probation shall finally close, when mercy 
no longer lingers, because God's Spirit, effectu- 
ally grieved away, ceases to strive with men, as 
it did when Noah's message to a doomed world 
had been given: when the final judgment has 
passed in which every hidden thing will have 
been brought to light and the counsels of every 
heart made manifest, so that the true character 
of every lost member of our race will be under- 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 75 

stood; and when, a last evidence of the in- 
corrigibiHty of the wicked and of their per- 
sistence in fighting against God is revealed 
in their united assault upon the beloved city 
(Rev. XX, 7-9), — then all those who possess 
that spirit of love and mercy manifested by the 
Savior of men upon the cross of Calvary will 
be willing that the wicked shall "sleep the sleep 
that knows no waking" ; for why should the 
unnumbered millions of the lost, who "have come 
short" in character and have not learned the 
way of happiness or eternal life, continue to 
suffer eternally and never cease their warfare 
against God? Not only will the righteous be 
*' witling' ' that the wicked shall perish in the 
day of God's power, but, according to the word 
of the Psalmist, they will even have a part, at 
least, by their decision in the judgment, and, 
therefore, will give their approval in the exe- 
cution of "the judgments written" upon the 
wicked. (Psa. cxlix, 4, 9.) 

What a halo of glory attaches to the next 
expression! The most beautiful thing in the 
universe is perfect holiness. It is needful here 
that inspiration make explanation of the great 
secret as to how Christ has preserved His full 
vigor so that He may finally accomplish the 
glorious result of the final overthrow of sin and 
rebellion. In this climax of inspired poetical 



76 MELCHIZEDEK 

expression, made, if possible, more sublimely 
beautiful by oriental coloring, we are trans- 
ported away from all contaminated environment 
to the fragrant summer fields at the entrancing 
moment of the birth of a new day. All nature 
is in her sweetest mood. The sparkling dew- 
drops, distilled in Nature's own laboratory, 
glisten like millions of tiny diamonds in the 
rays of the rising sun. Absolute purity is en- 
throned upon Nature's fragrant bosom. The 
vigor of all things animate has been renewed 
during the night. 

Even so, when Christ comes forth to perform 
the duties which devolve upon Him in the day 
of final retribution for the ungodly, it is pro- 
phetically foretold of Him, "In the beauty of 
holiness, from the womb of the morning. Thou 
hast the dew of thy youth." Although at that 
time He will have been "the Son of Man" for 
many centuries, yet because He has preserved 
spotless purity of character, He will have re- 
tained His full vigor, as fresh as at creation's 
morn when He spoke our solar system into ex- 
istence. He is as "strong in power" to over- 
throw the wicked as He was before sin entered 
the universe. He can crush it finally. 

Sin is the only thing in the universe that 
weakens and makes hideous. It is self-de- 
structive. "The wages of sin is death." The 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 77 

climax of weakness is death. The most striking 
possible comment on the sinfulness and, thereby, 
the weakness of the human family, is the ap- 
palling daily toll of death taken from our race. 
More than one hundred thousand members of 
Adam's posterity are overpowered by and suc- 
cumb to death during each twenty-four hours. 
In the day of Christ's power Satan's followers 
will say of him who is the author of sin, "Art 
thou also become weak as we? How art thou 
cut down to the ground, which didst weaken 
the nations!" (Isa. xiv, 10, 12.) The secret 
of perpetual youth is everlasting righteousness. 
"In the way of righteousness is life ; and in the 
pathway thereof there is no death." What a 
splendid premium upon holiness ! 

This inspired description of the perfection of 
character of Christ is in exact accord with that 
given by Jehovah of His Son, as recorded in 
Hebrews, chapter one. Please note the paral- 
lel. "But unto the Son He saith. Thy throne, 
O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of right- 
eousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou 
hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; 
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee 
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, 
Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foun- 
dation of the earth; and the heavens are the 
work of thine hands: they shall perish; but 



78 MELCHIZEDEK 

Thou remainest ; and they shall wax old as doth 
a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold 
them up, and they shall be changed ; but Thou 
art the same, and thy years shall not fail." 
(Verses 8-12.) 

And now we come to the vital verse of the 
Psalm (verse 4). When David recorded these 
words he was doubtless as ignorant of their 
meaning as are the masses of the people now of 
the Hebrew language. He simply spake as he 
was "moved by the Holy Ghost." From the 
brief exposition of the preceding verses, doubt- 
less all will agree as to the time when the oath of 
Jehovah by which Christ is made Priest-King 
forever, after the order of Melchizedek, will go 
into FULii effect. 

We will now notice the expression "will not 
repent." Why are these words thrown in? 
What occasion would Jehovah have for repent- 
ing, or more literally, turning back from His 
purpose? Primarily, these words would give 
force to the oath by declaring it unchangeable, 
no matter what emergencies or exigencies might 
arise. But there is much more involved in their 
deep meaning. God knew full well when He 
placed Himself under oath the terrible price at 
which that oath must be fulfilled. He knew 
that in order to make the oath effectual His 
only begotten Son, Fellow-God, must become 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 79 

man. He was conversant with the fact that His 
Son in human form must meet Satan, and over- 
come in temptation on every point where the 
first Adam failed. He foresaw the effort to 
destroy His infant Son at Bethlehem ; the fast- 
ing and temptation in the wilderness ; the suffer- 
ing in the Garden of Gethsemane ; the cruel 
smiting; the crown of thorns, and all of the 
heart-rending scenes of Calvary. Being infinite, 
He could "taste" with His Son the agonies of 
death. Our God knew that all this and infinitely 
more would be the purchase price of Christ's 
stepping into Adam's place to be our Savior, 
our High-Priest, "touched with the feelings of 
our infirmities" that He might be our King of 
righteousness ; and yet it is written, "The Lord 
hath sworn and will not repent (or will not turn 
back from His oath) ; Thou art a priest forever 
after the order of Melchizedek. By so much 
was Jesus made a surety of a better testament." 
(Heb. vii, 21, 22.) 

Before Christ could be made our High Priest, 
He must be made "sin for us." This, in brief, 
is the explanation of the expression, "The Lord 
hath sworn and will not repent,""^ In making 
"Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin," that 
He might thus become our Redeemer, is the oc- 
casion for repentance, — for turning back from 
His purpose, — for such is the meaning of "re- 



80 MELCHIZEDEK 

pent." The price paid for our redemption was 
the occasion for repentance, but He decided to 
pay the price, "for God so loved the world that 
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in Him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life." It is as though Jehovah 
had said: "Let Satan and evil men do their 
worst, still I will not withdraw from my pur- 
pose to make my Son a Priest forever 
after the order of Melchizedek." 

This emphatic expression, "will not re- 
pent," very clearly indicates that marvelous 
condescension was necessary on the part 
of Christ before his exaltation could foUow. 
What else could be the meaning of the ex- 
pression, "The Lord hath sworn and will 
not repenf^? When we consider the mar- 
velous sacrifice of the Father in giving 
Christ to redeem Adam's failure, his family 
and his world, then we discover the occa- 
sion for repentance — literally turning back 
from carrying out the oath — on the part 
of Jehovah. If the carrying of the oath 
into full effect did not necessitate the birth 
of Jesus into our human family, so that 
He could "taste death for every man" and 
thus redeem all that was lost in the fall, 
then what occasion for repentance can be 
discovered in the putting into operation of the 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 81 

oath by which Jesus is made a High Priest 
forever, after the order of Melchizedek? 

The special point that we wish to make clear 
in this connection is that the oath of Jehovah 
and the repentance clause connected therewith 
are without significance to us unless they in- 
clude: first, the humiliation of Christ in be- 
coming "obedient unto death, even the death 
of the Cross" ; and, second. His exaltation to 
the position of "King of kings, and Lord of 
lords." But if we consider the idea of possi- 
ble repentance, or at least occasion for repent- 
ance, on the part of Jehovah as suggested in 
the oath, as indicating the sufferings of Christ, 
and thus the tremendous sacrifice of the Father 
in giving His Son to redeem Adam's failure, 
then is the repentance clause pregnant with 
marvelous meaning. 

In fact, these words introduce the thought 
of a substitute, and suggest the idea that the 
providing of this substitute would cause the 
greatest possible sorrow and suffering to Je- 
hovah. We know that Jesus Christ became 
the substitute for sin-defiled humanity, and 
that in consequence of becoming such the keen- 
est possible sorrow was forced upon God the 
Father. Thus the sacrifice to Divinity in 
providing a substitute in the "last Adam" 
was identical with providing a Savior, a 



82 MELCHIZEDEK 

Priest-King, a Melchizedek, consecrated for- 
evermore to be the head of the Divine-human 
family. 

He knew that in giving His only-begotten 
Son to humanity He would always be a mem- 
ber of our race, and always wear the nail prints 
in His hands. He knew full well that Christ 
would, as being the great spiritual head of His 
body (the church), through the operation of 
the Holy Spirit, suffer with each member of 
His body till their suffering should forever 
cease and sin's power over them be crushed 
forevermore. 

The priest-king gives his life not always in 
sacrifice, but in service for His people. So 
Christ, our Priest-King, our Melchizedek, gives 
the outflowing of His life in a full overflowing 
stream of infinite love throughout eternity to 
the subjects of His kingdom. 

Please observe that the meaning of the 
words ^'will not repenf is lost unless the posi- 
tion is taken that the oath of Jehovah made 
Jesus Adam's successor as the head of our 
world. When the thought of the possibility 
of Jehovah's repentance or turning back from 
a course determined upon is suggested, then we 
must candidly consider the occasion for such 
repentance. We have already given a brief 
outline of the occasion for the turning back 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 83 

of Jehovah from His purpose to have Jesus 
take Adam's place, and redeem all that Adam 
lost. The occasion was the infinite and un- 
searchable price at which our salvation was 
purchased.^ 

Let us raise the inquiry as to what the word 
of the oath made of Christ. If we are correct 
in our premises, it simply brought Him into the 
position where He became all that Adam was 
or ever would have been to this world, had he 

2 It is worthy of the thought of every candid student 
that the words "will not repent" which are incorporated 
into the oath cannot refer, as would be the logic of 
some, to Christ's being made a Priest after the order 
of Shem. In fact, Shem never was a priest-king, and 
thus not a Melchizedek. The meaning of this wonderful 
inspired clause is also hopelessly lost if, as others say, 
Melchizedek was the Holy Spirit, for what occasion 
would there be for repentance on the part of Jehovah 
in making His Son the anti-type of the Holy Spirit? 

It must be apparent to all that if we stray away 
from the fact that Christ was made by the oath a priest 
after the order of Melchizedek in order to be Adam's 
successor and to redeem all that he lost, we make the 
word of the oath of none effect. 

God has never since the organization of the first na- 
tion in the history of the world recognized a priest-king 
in one person. No king over Israel could ever, with 
the approval of heaven, officiate as a priest. The two 
offices have ever been separate. There is, therefore, no 
man in this world under divine appointment as priest- 
king, as Melchizedek, nor will there be such a personage 
until Jesus Christ reigns over this world as its rightful 
Priest-King. 



84 MELCHIZEDEK 

by faithfulness come Into possession of the full 
heritage of his office. Or, to clothe the 
thought in other words, the oath made of 
Christ a Melchizedek, a Priest-King, an Ever- 
lasting Father, a Son by creation (or, better, 
by re-creation), even as Adam was a son of 
God by creation. Then as Christ was by the 
oath "consecrated forevermore" to the offices 
lost by Adam, and by this consecration was 
made a High Priest after the order of Mel- 
chizedek (all of which came to Him by virtue 
of His choice to become the "last Adam"), it 
is evident that the first Adam would have 
been forevermore a priest after that order had 
he not failed; and thus, logically, the order 
is composed of those who occupy such positions 
as Adam once held by right, but which will 
center upon Jesus Christ as a result of His 
becoming "the last Adam" in consequence of 
the failure of the first Adam. 

In the beginning of this world's history the 
priesthood was vested in the father-priest of our 
race, Adam. When he had lost all by the fall, 
the father of each family was still the 
priest for those of his own household, and the 
whole system of patriarchal or father-priest- 
hood pointed forward to the Everlasting Fa- 
ther-Priest who was to come. When He came 
and took the priesthood His order was the 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 85 

Melchizedek priesthood. Therefore, the only 
logical conclusion is that He took Adam's place 
in the Melchizedek priesthood. 

In every particular Jehovah made Christ 
Adam's successor. If it can be demonstrated 
that the oath by which Christ was made a priest 
forever after the order of Melchizedek con- 
ferred upon Him every office that would have 
belonged to Adam had he remained loyal to 
God, and made Christ the successor to that of- 
fice, then it is clear that Adam would have had 
the office of a priesthood after the order of 
Melchizedek, for the oath of Jehovah confers 
that office upon Christ. We might demon- 
strate the truthfulness of this statement by 
considering what offices Adam would have held 
had he not been succeeded by Christ, and thus 
what offices were conferred upon Christ by 
virtue of his succeeding Adam. 

First, Adam was the head of this world. 
That office and the dominion belonging thereto 
passes to Christ as it is written, "And thou, O 
tower of the flock, the stronghold of the 
daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even 
the first dominion,'' (Micah v, 2.) 

Second, Adam was the father of this world, in 
which office Christ succeeds him as our "Ever- 
lasting Father." (Isa. ix, 6.) 

Third, Adam was the original father- 



86 MELCHIZEDEK 

priest of our world, which office was conferred 
upon the "last Adam." (Ps. ex, 4.) 

Fourth, Adam would have been the king 
of this world, but that office is now conferred 
upon Christ. (Rev. xi, 15.) 

Fifth, Adam was the Son of God by crea- 
tion ; Jesus is the Son of God by re-creation 
or resurrection from the dead. (Rom. i, 4.) 
All of these offices were conferred upon Christ 
by the oath which made Him our High Priest 
after the order of Melchizedek; therefore, this 
oath simply made Him Adam's successor in 
all that pertained to the office of the Melchize- 
dek order of priesthood. 

Although his birth into our human family 
was essential to His becoming our Melchize- 
dek, yet He could neither step into the office 
of Priest or King or Everlasting Father solely 
as a birthright; but before He could fill either 
of these offices He must pass through the pre- 
paratory experiences. For the kingship he 
must, as the "seed of the woman," "bruise the 
serpent's head," and thereby become complete 
conqueror over all foes. This will be accom- 
plished when Satan is finally destroyed. For 
the priesthood He must by birth "be made like 
unto His brethren," must triumph over every 
temptation and over death, and pay the full 
penalty for the sins of His people. As Ever- 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 87 

lasting Father, He must have the power neces- 
sary to give life everlasting to His children. 
As a Son, He must be brought again from the 
dead by creative power. 

That the oath does not go into full effect, 
or that all that Jehovah intended to confer 
upon Christ by the oath will not be realized 
until Christ takes possession of this world as 
its rightful King, must be apparent when the 
force of the following Scripture quotations is 
taken into consideration. First, please ob- 
serve that no man can be a fully qualified and 
inaugurated priest-king after the order of 
Melchizedek until he is placed in possession 
of a kingdom (Heb. vii, 1, 2) ; for the office 
of king is meaningless unless it includes a 
kingdom, — subjects and territory. The oath 
making Christ an eternal Priest-King (that is, 
a Melchizedek) will surely, when it becomes 
fully operative, place Him in possession of 
everything that pertains to a complete kingdom. 
The oath, while operative now in that the sub- 
jects of His kingdom are being made up (and 
the whole trend of God's eternal purpose in 
this world is toward the setting up of His 
eternal kingdom), will reach its objective point 
and go into full effect after the inauguration 
and coronation of Christ (Dan. viii, 13, 14), 
when the declaration will be made that "the 



88 MELCHIZEDEK 

kingdoms of this world are become the king- 
doms of our Lord and of His Christ, and 
He shall reign forever and ever." (Rev. xi, 

15.) 

At His trial before Pilate Christ assured that 
Roman ruler that He had not yet taken posses- 
sion of His kingdom, although born into our 
human family to be sl King. His words were 
these: "My kingdom is not of this world; if 
my kingdom were of this world, then would my 
servants fight that I should not be delivered to 
the Jews ; but now is my kingdom not from 
hence." (John xviii, 36.) At the end of this 
present world the announcement will be made 
by "great voices in heaven, saying. The king- 
doms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign 
forever and ever." Thanksgiving is then of- 
fered "because Thou (Christ) hast taken to 
thee thy great power and hast reigned." (Rev. 
xi, 15, 17.) He then sends His angels to 
gather out of His kingdom all things that of- 
fend and that do iniquity (Matt, xiii, 40, 41), 
and, simultaneously with the oath becoming 
fully operative, the prophetic words of Gabriel 
addressed to Mary will go into full effect : "He 
shall be great and shall be called the Son of 
the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto 
Him the throne of His father David . . . and 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 89 

of His kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 
i, 32, 33.) 

How full of beautiful significance is the oath 
of Jehovah by which Christ is made a High 
Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek 
when viewed from the standpoint of His re- 
demption of the world, and then occupying the 
position of its eternal King and everlasting 
Father while contrariwise, how barren of mean- 
ing, if the significance of the oath and the char- 
acteristics of the order of the Melchizedek 
priesthood are not comprehended.^ 

3 A careful study of the priesthood in this world 
since the cross of Calvaiy, when the Jewish economy 
passed away with the rending of the veil of the temple 
from top to bottom, should convince any candid mind 
that there is no priesthood in the present dispensation 
recognized and approved by heaven except the Melchize- 
dek. Hence those churches which organize systems of 
priesthood, setting apart men to occupy them, should look 
well to their Scripture foundation. It cannot be well to 
slip men into the place of Christ. 

In the new dispensation the only true priesthood set 
forth in the Scriptures is the Melchizedek; and Christ 
is the one and only member of our human family who 
is set forth in the inspired Word as a Priest after that 
exalted order. Therefore, when Christian people claim 
to have the right to select and set apart men in 
their church to the office of the priesthood after the 
order of Melchizedek, they are putting men in the place 
of Christ. Then, too, with the Melchizedek order of 
priesthood, there is "the power of endless life." They 
are all not only priests, but also kings of righteousness, 
and not self-appointed, but chosen of God. They abide 



90 MELCHIZEDEK 

We are still further and more deeply con- 
firmed in our belief that the prophetic oath 
making Christ a High Priest after the order 
of Melchizedek goes into full effect when Jesus 
takes possession of this world as His eternal 
kingdom by a careful study of the last three 
verses of Psalm ex, and at the same time, 
the unfolding of this theme in such perfect har- 
mony with God's plan of salvation impresses 
us more deeply with the inspiration of the 
Bible. 

The meaning of the 5th verse of the Psalm 
under consideration and the time when it ap- 
plies will be clear to all Bible students. All of 
the ungodly, including kings and potentates, 
will be pierced with death. (See Rev. vi, 14- 
17.) 

Verse 6 reads: "He shall judge among the 
heathen. He shall fill the places with the dead 
bodies ; He shall wound the heads over many 
countries." The judgment of the heathen 
here referred to is manifestly not of an investi- 

priests continually, and come into existence physically 
by a special act of creative power, as did Adam in the 
beginning of this world's history, and as did Christ when 
He was brought again from the dead. Therefore, as 
clearly set forth in the seventh chapter of Hebrews, 
the claims of any church to having the Melchiz- 
edek priesthood composed of men proves their whole 
system to be built upon an unscriptural foundation. 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 91 

gative nature, but, instead, an executive judg- 
ment, for the places are filled with dead bodies, 
evidently referring to the time when those who 
know not God — for such is the meaning of 
"heathen" — shall become ashes under the feet 
of the redeemed. 

The last verse of the Psalm suggests two 
closely associated thoughts to our minds: "He 
shall drink of the brook in the way, therefore 
shall he lift up the head." 

First, it was necessary for Christ to "taste 
death for every man," to drink, as it were, the 
whole torrent of this world's sorrow before He 
could be our Savior, Father, Priest and King, 
for the Captain of our salvation was made per- 
fect — was perfected for his four-fold office — 
through suffering. (Heb. ii, 9, 10.) By bear- 
ing our sins in His own body on the tree He ac- 
complished the glorious result of lifting up our 
heads in joy and gladness to all eternity. The 
sentence of death fastened upon each one of 
us stood in the way of our becoming members 
of the kingdom of Christ. But "He drank of 
the brook in the way," "tasted death for every 
man," received the death stroke in His own 
body, so that our heads might be lifted up with 
the joys of eternal salvation. 

Second, after Christ has finally destroyed all 
of His enemies, and the world (His kingdom) 



92 MELCHIZEDEK 

is fully redeemed from all the blighting effects 
of sin, what will be more natural and beautiful 
than for the Life-Giver to Himself lead the way 
to the River of Life which flows through the 
"way" or through the midst of the chief high- 
way of the New Jerusalem, and, drinking of 
its life-giving waters, invite the redeemed to 
freely partake thereof! And when they have 
drunk of its crystal waters, and feel a new life 
current coursing through their being, — with all 
the reality of their blessed estate in their Eden 
home bursting upon them, — surely their heads 
will be lifted up with joy and gladness forever- 
more. Reader, may this experience be ours to 
enjoy. Please note the striking contrast. 
With the one class He wounds their heads, in- 
flicting fatal wounds upon unrighteous kings, 
while with the redeemed He lifts up their heads 
with overflowing joy forevermore. 

It is pertinent to the position herein taken 
that when Christ is finally established upon His 
throne, as this world's rightful King, He will 
still fill the office of Priest, but not as an in- 
tercessor for sinners. This fact is proven by 
the prophetic utterances of Zechariah in chap- 
ter vi, verses 12 and 13 which read as follows : 
"And speak unto him saying. Thus speaketh 
the Lord of Hosts, saying. Behold the man 
whose name is the beanch; and he shall grow 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 93 

up out of his place, and he shall build the temple 
of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple 
of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and 
shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall 
be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel 
of peace shall be between them both/' 

All Christians will agree that "the man whose 
name is the branch" is the "Son of Man," 
Christ Jesus. The statement is made that "he 
shall grow up out of his place." Christ did 
certainly "grow up out of His place" for "His 
place" (His home) was in heaven: His of- 
fice. Creator: His being, Fellow-God. But 
He came to this world, was born a member of 
our human family, became the Son of Man, 
grew up far removed from His home of light 
and glory, from associations with the Father 
and the angelic hosts, in a dark, cold, friend- 
less world. Surely the prophet spoke truth- 
fully when he said, "He shall grow up" — from 
childhood to manhood — "out of His place," out 
of His environment, far away from the courts 
of glory. 

He did this, — made the supreme sacrifice 
by pouring out His soul unto death, — that He 
might "build the temple of the Lord," the 
church of the living God; for He came down 
from heaven to preach "peace to you which 
were afar off and to them that were nigh." 



94 MELCHIZEDEK 

"For through Him we both have access by one 
Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are 
no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow- 
citizens with the saints, and of the household of 
God : And are built upon the foundation of the 
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself be- 
ing the chief corner stone: In whom all the 
building fitly framed together groweth unto an 
holy temple in the Lord.'* (Eph. ii, 18-21.) 
And having built the temple of the Lord by 
the sacrifice of Himself, surely He is entitled to 
"bear the glory." 

*'Come let us sing the songs; 
The angels first began the strain^ — 
The homage which to Christ belongs: 
Worthy the Lamb^ for He was slain. 

"Slain to redeem us by His blood, 
To cleanse from every sinful stain, 
And make us kings and priests to God: 
Worthy the Lamb, for He was slain. 

**To Him who suffered on the tree 
Our souls, at His soul's price, to gain. 
Blessing and praise, and glory be: 
Worthy the Lamb, for He was slain. 

"To Him enthroned by filial right 
All power in heaven and earth proclaim 
Honor, and majesty, and might: 
Worthy the Lamb, for He was slain. 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 95 

'Xong as we live^ and when we rise^ 
And while in heaven with Him we reign, 
This song our song of songs shall be: 
Worthy the Lamb, for He was slain." 

The yielding of Adam, the rightful prince, to 
the arch-deceiver gave the latter the title of 
"prince of this world" ; and holding this office 
even by usurpation, he had access to heaven as 
the representative of our world. (Job. i, 6 and 
ii, 1.) This office was held by Satan who, in- 
stead of being a true representative of our 
race, appeared in the courts of heaven as an 
"accuser of the brethren" until Christ had 
gloriously triumphed over Satan, where the 
first Adam failed. Then was the. usurper cast 
out of Heaven (Rev. xii, 1-12) and Christ took 
His place as our Representative at the central 
court of appeal, — the mercy seat of the uni- 
verse. 

Christ did not assume to be the Advocate and 
Representative of this world till He had con- 
quered where Adam failed. When He had thus 
conquered the enemy and author of death and 
had ascended in glorious triumph to heaven, 
then this change in representation took place 
and Satan was cast out. Then, instead of our 
having "an accuser of the brethren" to repre- 
sent us, Jesus, our Elder Brother, our Advo- 



96 MELCHIZEDEK 

cate and Friend, became our Representative 
to plead His own blood In our behalf. What 
a priceless gift to our human family Is our 
Melchlzedek, our Representative, our Advo- 
cate! (Rom. vIII, 31-35; Heb. iv, 14-16; I 
Jno. li, 1.) 

The next statement which claims our atten- 
tion Is that "He shall sit and rule upon His 
throne." (Zech. vl, 13.) In the coming king- 
dom it would appear that the Father and Son 
win jointly occupy the throne of the universe. 
In the statement, "He shall sit and rule upon 
His throne/' of necessity kingly rather than 
priestly authority Is Involved, for a king must 
have a throne upon which he officially sits and 
from which he rules. But not only is Christ 
to rule as King, but He shall also be "a Priest 
upon His throne." How wonderfully is the 
title which Christ will wear fulfilled In this pro- 
phetic description. That title is "Melchlze- 
dek," and Is bestowed because of the fact that 
in Its God-given meaning it indicates exactly 
what Christ will be to all eternity, "first be- 
ing by interpretation, priest of the Most High 
God" — "King of Righteousness," and after 
that also "King of Salem" which is King of 
Peace. How beautiful Is the next thought: 
"And the counsel of peace shall be between them 
both." In order to rule jointly upon the throne 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 97 

of the universe, the Father and Son must and 
will always be in perfect accord; no shadow of 
strife: no rivalry. They must be one in heart 
and in purpose. 

THE EVERLASTING COVENANT USHERED IN 
WHEN THE OATH BY WHICH CHRIST IS 
MADE OUR MELCHIZEDEK GOES INTO FULL 
EFFECT 

Although a vital relationship exists between 
the -fact of Christ's being made our High Priest 
forever after the order of Melchizedek and the 
fulfillment of all of the blessed conditions of 
the everlasting covenant in the new earth, yet 
it is not the purpose of the author to enlarge 
upon this special phase of our theme in the 
present volume. (Heb. vii, 21, 22; ix, 15; xii, 
28.) However, the fact that our study thus 
far focuses upon the statement that our oath- 
assured priest-king is also our present High 
Priest, ojfficiating in the sanctuary in heaven, 
cannot escape the notice of every true Bible 
student, for we read: "For the law maketh 
men high priests which have infirmity; but the 
word of the oath, which was since the law, 
maketh the Son, who is consecrated forever- 
more. Now of the things which we have 
spoken this is the sum : We have such an High 
Priest, who is set on the right hand of the 
throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a min- 



98 MELCHIZEDEK 

ister of the sanctuary, of the true tabernacle, 
which the Lord pitched and not man. For 
every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and 
sacrifices ; wherefore it is of necessity that this 
man have somewhat to offer. For if he were on 
earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there 
are priests that offer gifts according to the 
law. Who serve unto the example and 
shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was ad- 
monished of God when he was about to make 
the tabernacle: for. See, saith He, that thou 
make all things according to the pattern 
showed to thee in the mount. But now hath he 
obtained a more excellent ministry, by how 
much also he is the mediator of a better cove- 
nant, which was established upon better prom- 
ises." (Heb. vii, 28; viii, 1-6.) 

It will also be apparent from the reference 
just cited that Christ's "more excellent min- 
istry" in the heavenly sanctuary as High Priest 
after the order of Melchizedek is for the defin- 
ite purpose of finally establishing the "better 
covenant" with all of its "better promises" for 
the benefit of the "heirs of promise," — the sub- 
jects of His eternal kingdom. 

It is manifestly impossible that the provi- 
sions of the new covenant can be carried into 
full effect until Christ's kingdom is established 
in our world (Heb. viii, 8-13), when the benefi- 



THE OATH OF JEHOVAH 99 

Claries of the new covenant will receive "the 
promise of eternal inheritance." (Heb. ix, 
15.) The logic of all this is that, coincident 
with the carrying into effect of the oath by 
which Jesus is made our eternal Priest-King 
and the establishing of His everlasting king- 
dom of peace and glory in our world (made 
new), all of the new covenant promises become 
fully operative. For, as has been abundantly 
proven from Psalm ex and parallel Scriptures, 
the oath making Christ our Priest-King (our 
Melchizedek) does not meet with its entire ful- 
fillment until the kingdoms of this world be- 
come the kingdoms of our Lord and of His 
Christ, and it is perfectly clear that all of the 
provisions of the new covenant, as set forth in 
Jer. xxxi, 31-34 and Heb. viii, 6-13, will never 
meet with their fulfillment until the new earth 
state is ushered in and "the meek inherit the 
earth and delight themselves in the abundance 
of peace." 

So far as recorded, the only person ever 
made priest after the order of Melchizedek by 
an oath of Jehovah was Christ. Evidently all 
other persons having place in that high order 
were created for their respective offices. How 
contrary, therefore, to Divine revelation for 
any church to assume to create a priesthood 
after the order of Melchizedek, and make pre- 



100 MELCHIZEDEK 

tense of exalting their fellow-men to positions 
in that exalted order! Christ as priest, is the 
Great High Priest of the universe ; while as 
King, He is King of kings and Lord of lords. 



CHAPTER VII 

KINGSHIP BY BIRTH AND BY 
CHARACTER 

''For unto US' a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: 
and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His 
name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty 
God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of 
the increase of His governmient and peace there shall be 
no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his king^ 
dom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and 
with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of 
the Lord of hosts will perform this." "Pilate therefore 
said unto Him, Art Thou a King then? Jesus answered. 
Thou sayest that I am a King. To this end wa^ I born, 
and for this cause came I into the world." (Isa. ix, 6. 7; 
Jno. xviii, 37.) ''But unto the Son he saith. Thy throne, 
O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness 
is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved right- 
eousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy 
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above 
thy fellows." (Heb. i, 8, 9.) 

Paul traces Christ's transition from being 

Fellow-God to His incarnation, or being "made 

like unto Nis brethren," and then invites us to 

consider Him as our High Priest. (Heb. i, ii, 

iii, 1.) As the force of this argument is that 

He became man, "the last Adam," that he might 

101 



102 MELCHIZEDEK 

thus become our High Priest (Heb. ii, 16, 17), 
even so, in order to become our King, He must 
clothe His Divinity with humanity, — put hu- 
man nature on. And thus do we learn that one 
step in the process by which He became our 
Priest-King, our Melchizedek, was by coming 
into our world in the same human family of 
which Adam was the head. 

We have already given Bible proof of the 
truth that Christ's literal and physical, as well 
as spiritual kingdom will be established on this 
earth. He entered upon His priesthood im- 
mediately after His ascension, but does not 
take possession of the kingdom till He returns 
to this world. 

The earth was made for the home of man 
(Gen. i and ii), and the curse of sin upon it 
did not destroy the design of God that the 
earth should be inhabited by a people that are 
"all righteous" (Isa. Ix, 21); "for thus saith 
the Lord that created the heavens, God Him- 
self that formed the earth and made it; He 
hath established it. He created it not in vain, 
He formed it to be inhabited; I am the Lord; 
and there is none else." (Isa. xlv, 18.) God's 
very existence is pledged to do what He designed 
to do in the beginning. Man refused to obey 
in the beginning, and sold himself under sin 



KINGSHIP 103 

(Rom. vii, 14) to the author of sin. Yielding 
himself, he yielded all over which he had do- 
minion. Satan in this way usurped authority 
and became "prince of this world." (See John 
xii, 31; II Cor. iv, 4; Luke iv, 5-7.) This 
power of Satan is broken by Christ. (Rev. xii, 
10; Heb. ii, 14.) But although the kingdom 
was surrendered to Satan, the unfailing prom- 
ise of our God is that it shall be wrested from 
him by One mightier than he, and be restored to 
the redeemed family of whom Christ is the head, 
as it is written: "And Thou, A Tower of the 
flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, 
unto Thee shall it come, even the first domin- 
ion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter 
of Jerusalem." (Micah iv, 8.) 

Inasmuch as Adam would have been the king 
of righteousness and the king of peace over all 
the world had he not failed, what steps must 
be taken by the Son of God before He can take 
Adam's place in the kingship of this world? 
Let the Savior Himself answer. Pilate asked 
Him the question, "Art Thou a king then.?" 
Jesus anwered, ''Thou sayest that I am a king. 
Tq this end was I horn'* (Jno. xviii, 37.) 
When Jesus made this answer it would seem as 
though He had in mind the very thought of 
the Scripture given of old through Himself to 
the prophet Isaiah, as it is written : "Unto us 



104 MELCHIZEDEK 

a Child IS born, unto us a Son is given, and the 
government shall be upon His shoulders ; and 
His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, 
The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His 
government and peace there shall be no end, 
upon the throne of David shall He sit, and 
upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish 
it with judgment and with justice from hence- 
forth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of 
Hosts will perform this." (Isa. ix, 6, 7.) 

As a matter of fact, in the infinite wisdom 
of our God it would seem that Christ would 
not have been a fit King for the redeemed 
human family had He come to our world and 
taken a place upon a throne simply as the Son 
of God. He must become the Son of Man to 
be a King, perfectly adapted to the require- 
ments of a race of beings who in the weakness 
of their humanity endured the fierce conflict 
with sin and Satan. The highest angel in 
glory, as such, could not consistently be the 
king over redeemed human beings. The God- 
man only is fitted for this office. 

As the Son of God, Christ would have had 
power to have physically destroyed Satan and 
to have wrested the kingdom of this world from 
him to whom Adam surrendered it, but, in 
order in both the wisdom of God and man to 



KINGSHIP 105 

be a suitable King for our world, He must he 
horn into our human family. He must step 
into the world on Adam's plane, must fight and 
win where Adam lost. In order to be our King 
He must win the victory over sin and pay the 
penalty therefor with His own life. He must 
by His death obtain power and authority to 
put him, who vanquished Adam, to death. 
(Heb. ii, 14.) All this He accomplished most 
gloriously by being horn into our family, — 
our race. 

It is almost a universal rule among nations 
that a subject must at least be native born be- 
fore he can be the chief ruler of the people. 
No man can be President of the United States 
unless he is a native born citizen. A natural- 
ized citizen cannot be the chief executive of 
the American people. The great nations of 
Europe who successfully rule the tribes of 
Africa do it not directly, but through native 
born kings, maintaining the divine right of 
kings, as it were. 

During the century just past, the Emperor 
Maximilian disregarded this universally ac- 
cepted principle and paid the penalty with the 
sacrifice of his life. He came from Austria, 
with royal blood in his veins, to be the Em- 
peror of Mexico. Napoleon's armies lent their 
power to seat him upon the throne, but all to 



106 MELCHIZEDEK 

no purpose. His blood, although royal, was 
not the right kind of royal blood for the Mexi- 
can nation. They must have a man of their 
own flesh and blood. When he was dethroned 
Benito Juarez, a native Indian, was made ruler 
and idolized by the people. 

To carry out the thought, so dear to the 
Ihuman heart, of having a king who is born 
to the people over whom he is to rule, when an 
heir to the throne of Great Britain was to be 
born England's queen, in order to bind the peo- 
ple to the throne more effectually, went to 
Wales, where the crown prince was born, that 
he might be the ruler of Wales as well as 
of all Britain; hence the title, "The Prince of 
Wales," borne always by the oldest son of 
Britain's ruler. 

When God wanted to bind all the people of 
our world to the government of heaven He sent 
His Son into the world, to be born a member 
of our human family. The prophecies fore- 
told that the seed of the woman would 
bruise the serpent's head, and again, by antici- 
pation, '^Unto us a Child is bom, unto us a Son 
is given." The angels also made the announce- 
ment, '^Unto you is born this day in the city 
of David, a Savior, which is the Christ the 
Lord." Thus God adapts the plan of salva- 
tion, with its matchless king, to every require- 



KINGSHIP 107 

ment of the human hearts of the Divine-human 
family. 

Please note again the expression, ''to this 
end was I born." Born to take Adam's place, 
in the taking of which He finally becomes the 
King and Everlasting Father over all the earth, 
and takes the title conferred upon Him by the 
oath of Jehovah as Priest-King after the order 
of Melchizedek. 

Question. If Christ becomes Priest-King, 
King of Righteousness and Peace (for such is 
the interpretation of the title Melchizedek) 
when He takes the kingdom that would have be- 
longed to Adam had he retained his righteous- 
ness, then what title would have belonged to 
Adam had the kingship been conferred upon 
him.'^ Answer, Surely he would have been 
styled the Melchizedek of our world. 

Question, Then what constitutes the order.? 
Answer, Individuals created of God, as was 
Adam, as heads, as priest-kings of righteous- 
ness, and hence MelchizedeJcs, of worlds. Thus 
the title belongs to the one occupying the po- 
sition of world-wide king, under God. 

And this underlying principle is not an ar- 
bitrary thing, for God recognized it as abso- 
lutely essential in order to have perfect af- 
finity between the ruler and his subjects. It 
would not have been right in the plan of God 



108 MELCHIZEDEK 

to have Christ take the position of King of 
this world simply as a Divine being. He must 
put human nature on and pass triumphantly 
through all the experiences of the subjects of 
His kingdom, except sin, or the relationship of 
King and people would not be perfect to all 
eternity. 

Daniel in prophetic vision foresaw this when 
he said, after viewing the final judgment scene 
which just precedes the giving of the kingdom 
to Christ: "7 saw in the night vision and he- 
hold, one like the Son of Man came with the 
clouds of heaven" [an escort of angels] "and 
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought 
Him near before Him. And there was given 
dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations, and languages should serve 
Him." 

Why did not Daniel say that he saw one 
like the Son of God.? Because he recorded 
God's perfect plan in which the kingdom of 
this world must he given to the Son of Man, — 
a member of our race. Praise our God, "Unto 
us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given," and 
that Son perfectly and completely supplies 
every possible requirement as Savior, Priest, 
and King. 

Jesus had absolute perfection as the Son 
of God in heaven, but that He might be per- 



KINGSHIP log 

fectly adapted to the needs of humanity. He 
became Man. In accord with this perfection, 
this complete fitness for kingship and priest- 
hood, are the words of inspiration, "and being 
made perfect, He became the Author of eternal 
salvation unto all them that obey Him: called 
of God, an High Priest after the order of 
Melchizedek." (Heb. v, 9, 10.) 

How inspiring to the one who is anxious for 
the kingdom of God to be established in the 
earth is the testimony of the twenty-four wit- 
nesses of the human family who are now in the 
courts of glory, given in anticipation of the 
time when the kingdoms of this world shall be- 
come the kingdoms of our Lord and of His 
Christ ! These twenty-four elders bow before 
the throne and unite their voices in saying, 
"We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, 
which art, and wast, and art to come ; because 
Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power and 
hast reigned." (Rev. xi, 16, 17.) 

The twenty-four elders here mentioned are 
the same as those brought to view in Rev. v, 
8-10, and are doubtless a portion of the multi- 
tude of captives who came forth from their 
graves after Jesus was resurrected, and at 
the time of His ascension went with Him to 
the kingdom of glory (Psa. xxiv), — as it were 
a company of first fruits, proving His power 



110 MELCHIZEDEK 

over death and the grave, which also gives in- 
fallible proof that Jesus will presently bring 
all of the righteous dead forth from their 
graves and transplant them, immortalized, in 
His everlasting kingdom. If these twenty-four 
elders who are already in heaven give thanks in 
anticipation of the setting up of the kingdom 
of Christ, the hearts of the children of the king- 
dom who are still in this vale of tears should 
leap for joy at the prospect of the soon-coming 
of our King to establish His kingdom of right- 
eousness and peace forevermore. 

"Crown Him with many crowns. 

The Lamb upon His throne; 
Hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns 

All music but its own. 
Awake my soul, and sing 

Of Him who died for thee; 
And hail Him as thy matchless King 

Through all Eternity." 

THE SEED OF THE WOMAN 

All that Christ has done and will do for hu- 
manity was foreshadowed in the first promise 
of a Deliverer after the awful ruin into which 
Adam by his fall had plunged the world. To 
quote the thought of the promise in brief: 
"The Seed of the woman shall bruise the ser- 



KINGSHIP 111 

pent's head," — ^the Son of God must become the 
seed of the woman before He could by His 
death, pay the penalty for sin and thus become 
our Savior. Having overcome temptation, 
sin and Satan, then with the acceptance of the 
supreme sacrifice for all sin came logically the 
right, authority or power to crush sin and its 
author forevermore. (Heb. ii, 14.) He must 
become the seed of the woman before He could 
be our High Priest, as a Priest must be taken 
from among His brethren so that they will 
know that He is touched with the feeling of 
their infirmities. He could not become our 
King until He became the seed of the woman, 
and it requires kingly, rather than priestly, au- 
thority to bruise the serpent's head. 

Thus we comprehend in this brief promise: 
First, kingly authority in bruising the ser- 
pent's head, — inflicting a fatal wound; sec- 
ond, sonship, being born of a woman; third, 
fatherhood in imparting life and constant care 
to His children; fourth, a Savior, off^ering 
Himself as a sacrifice for His race; fifth, the 
Priestly ofiice in becoming the chief Represent- 
ative of the redeemed family and an Interces- 
sor; sixth, by becoming the seed of the woman. 
He received the authority to officiate as Judge 
also, as He said Himself, that the Father 
"hath given Him authority to execute judg- 



112 MELCHIZEDEK 

ment also, because He is the Son of Man.^* 
(John V, 27.) 

But someone will be inclined to ask, "Why 
this treatise concerning the necessity for Christ 
to be born into our family before He could be 
our King? What has this truth to do with His 
becoming our High Priest after the order of 
Melchizedek?" Dear reader, the line of 
thought just presented constitutes the ground- 
work of a vital link in the chain of truth by 
which Jesus succeeded Adam in the most ex- 
alted priesthood known to the universe, namely, 
the Melchizedek. Please recall our premise, — 
namely, that this order is composed only of 
Sons of God who are rulers of world domin- 
ions, each an everlasting father of his world. 

"In the beginning" God, the Father-King of 
the universe, gave Adam complete dominion as a 
prince over all the earth, as stated by the Psalm- 
ist: "Thou madest him to have dominion over 
the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all 
things under his feet." (Psa. viii, 6. See 
also Gen. i, 26 and Heb. ii, 7-9.) 

As a prince, Adam in his fall could only 
surrender that which he possessed, and while 
Satan, the usurper, claimed the kingship of 
this world, yet Christ only conceded him to be 
the prince of this world. (Luke iv, 5-7 ; John 
xii, 31, and xiv, 30.) Had Adam stood the test, 



KINGSHIP 113 

he would ultimately have been crowned as this 
world's perpetual king, but he failed, lost the 
dominion, the prospective kingship, and even 
his own life. When Satan had accomplished 
Adam's downfall he became the prince of this 
world, and being the author of death, he laid 
the awful penalty of death upon the race. But 
although Adam failed, God's eternal purpose 
concerning this world did not fail, could not 
fail. Individuals may fail, but God's plan 
never. 

The "last Adam," the Son of God, the Son 
of Man, the Creator of all worlds, the Prince 
of Life, the Wonderful Counselor, the Ever- 
lasting Father, the King of Righteousness, was 
promised to be the Melchizedek of our world, 
and the latter promise was confirmed by the 
oath of Jehovah. And unto us sl child was 
born, to be our King, to win back all that was 
lost by him who would have been our king had 
he as a prince remained loyal to the "King 
Eternal." 

And now our objective point. When the 
time comes for the full "redemption of the 
purchased possession," when the kingdom is de- 
livered to Christ (Rev. xi, 15), and when 
Christ takes the throne. He takes it in Adam's 
stead, as the "last Adam." And with the 
crowning of Jesus as this world's King the oath 



114 MELCHIZEDEK 

of Jehovah goes into full effect which consti- 
tutes Him forever a Priest-King after the order 
of Melchizedek. Had Adam remained faithful 
he would have received the crown and the king- 
dom ; therefore, the only logical conclusion is 
that the Melchizedek order of priesthood is 
composed of those who under divine appoint- 
ment sit upon world thrones as kings of right- 
eousness and of peace. Surely, the fact that 
in becoming the Priest-King of this world 
Christ fills the position of a High Priest "after 
the order of Melchizedek" furnishes strong evi- 
dence that the Melchizedek order of priesthood 
or of priest-kings is composed of those whose 
offices embrace world dominions. 

According to that wonderful prophetic state- 
ment of the Psalmist, with the declaration of 
this sonship there is also conferred the gift of 
the uttermost parts of the earth for Christ's 
eternal possession. Thus, when He enters into 
possession of His kingdom, which includes the 
"uttermost parts of the earth," He takes the 
dominion that was originally given to Adam, 
and in taking that dominion He takes it under 
the title of Melchizedek, which title logically 
would have belonged to Adam had he retained 
"the uttermost parts of the earth" for his 
eternal inheritance. (Read the entire second 
Psalm, especially noting verses 7 and 8.) 



KINGSHIP 115 

Upon whomsoever the title "Melchizedek" is 
bestowed by Jehovah, it signifies exactly what 
the individual is, both in character and in of- 
ficial position. Thus the final effect of the 
oath of Jehovah, making Christ a Priest for- 
ever after the order of Melchizedek, is to make 
Him the "King of Righteousness" and "King 
of Peace" of our earth (made new), for the 
prophets foretold His qualifications for eternal 
kingship in terms which exactly correspond 
with the inspired interpretation of the title 
"Melchizedek." Please observe the following 
examples : — "Behold, the days come, saith the 
Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous 
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, 
and shall execute judgment and justice in the 
earth." "And this is His name whereby He 
shall be called, the lord our righteousness." 
(Jer. xxiii, 5, 6.) "And His name shall be 
called . . . The Prince of Peace." (Isa. ix, 6.) 
"But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O 
God, is forever and ever : a scepter of righteous- 
ness is the scepter of thy kingdom. (Heb. i, 8, 
9.) "And He hath on His vesture and on His 
thigh a name written, king of kings, and lord 
OF LORDS." (Rev. xix, 16.) As the one Medi- 
ator between God and man, Jesus is now en- 
gaged in the work of preparing the subjects, 
for His eternal kingdom. 



CHAPTER VIII 
"OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS" 

^'God . . . hath in these last days spoken unto us by 
His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, 
by whom also He made the worlds" (Heb. i, 1, 2.) 

Probably there is not an astronomer in all 
the world who would not ridicule the idea that 
the earth, which by comparison with uncounted 
millions of spheres in the universe is but a float- 
ing atom in a boundless sea, is the only in- 
habited globe among them all. Relative to this 
theme, Professor H. U. Stevens says: — 

"Each star is a sun in many ways like our sun, 
some larger, some smaller, — the center of a system 
around which revolves worlds and satellites upon 
which intelligences live and flourish/' 

Upon this subject Professor Richard A. 
Proctor says : — 

**We see proofs on all sides that, besides the 
world on which we live, other worlds exist as well 
cared for and as nobly planned. Nay, we see 
globes by the side of which our earth would seem 
but as a tiny speck; we trace these globes as they 

116 



"OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS'^ 117 

sweep with stately motion on their appointed 
courses; we watch the return of day on the broad 
expanse of their surfaces; and we see systems of 
satellites which are suspended as lights for their 
nocturnal skies. We further find that our sun is 
matched by a thousand thousand suns amid the im- 
measurable depths of space; and the mind's eye 
pictures other worlds like those which course 
around the sun traveling in stately orbits around 
his fellow-luminaries. 

"Long^ however^ before the wonders of modern 
astronomy had been revealed to us, men of inquir- 
ing minds seem to have been led, as by an irresisti- 
ble instinct, to examine into the resemblance which 
may exist between our world and other worlds sur- 
rounding it on every hand. It has not been the 
mere fanciful theorizer who has discussed such 
questions, but men of the highest eminence in sci- 
ence. In long-past ages Anaximander and Py- 
thagoras studied the subject of other worlds than 
ours; later, such men as Huyghens, Galileo, and 
Newton have dwelt upon the same interesting theme. 

**So rapidly has science progressed that already 
the subject of life in other worlds has assumed a 
new aspect. Arguments which were hypothetical 
thirty years ago have either become certainties or 
been disproved. 

"Never since men first explored the celestial 
depths has a series of more startling discoveries re- 
warded the labors of astronomers and physicists 
than during the past few years. Unhoped-for reve- 
lations have been made on every side. 



118 MELCHIZEDEK 

"My object^ then^ in the pages which follow is 
not solely to establish the thesis that there are other 
worlds than ours^ but to present in a new and, I 
hope, interesting light the marvelous discoveries 
which have rewarded recent scientific researches. 
Judged merely according to their direct significance, 
these discoveries are well calculated to excite our 
admiration for the wonderful works of God in His 
universe, and for the far-reaching scope of the men- 
tal powers which He has given to His creature man. 
But it is when we consider recent discoveries in 
their relation to the existence of other worlds, when 
we attempt to form a conception of the immense va- 
rieties of the forms of life corresponding to the 
innumerable varieties of cosmical structure disclosed 
by modern researches, that we recognize the full 
significance of those discoveries. 

'*And, in any case, no argument can be drawn 
from the moon's unfitness for the support of life 
against the view that, where orbs fit for the sup- 
port of life exist, there Nature has provided such 
classes of living creatures as are adapted to the 
special habitudes of those orbs. 

"But, on the other hand, we are taught that the 
existence of difi'erences sufficient to render a dis- 
tant planet an unsuitable abode for such creatures 
as we are familiar with cannot force upon us the 
conclusion that the planet is uninhabited. 

*'On the contrary, the lesson conveyed by our 
earth's analogy leads to the conclusion that many 
worlds may exist, abundantly supplied with living 
creatures of many diff'erent species." 



"OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS'^ 119 

Other men of broad education have spoken 
definitely on this theme. In referring to 
Magellan as the first to circumnavigate the 
globe, Doctor Draper said : — 

"He first impressed his name indelibly on the 
earth and on the sky^ on the strait that connects 
the two great oceans^ and on those clouds of starry 
worlds seen in the southern heavens." (''Intel- 
lectual Development of Europe/' p. 452.) 

Again : — 

"It does seem incredible that we alone should 
represent in the universe the image of God; and if 
in one sohtary star another race of beings dwells^ 
if we concede the existence of a single spirit other 
than ourselves^ we have allowed the principle." 

Stopford Brooke. 

"A belief that there are other worlds besides our 
own is not an essential article of religion^ but such 
a belief serves to enlarge our ideas of the works of 
God^ and to illustrate the greatness of His power 
and wisdom." 

KiTTO. 

Mr. C. H. Spurgeon suggests "that in the 
boundless regions of space there are worlds 
inhabited by beings infinitely superior to us, 
and it may be that on set days the princess 
from far-off realms, the kings, the mighty ones 
of His boundless realms, come to the court of 



120 MELCHIZEDEK 

Christ in joy and gladness, and, all united, 
raise their voices in shouts and hallelujahs such 
as mortal ear has never heard." 

Doctor O. C. Godsmark raises the ques- 
tion : — 

"Is Venus inhabited? Why not? There is 
naught in all the boasts of infidel science to the 
contrary. Why should not Venus be the home of 
intelligent creatures^ made in the image of God 
and living to His honor and glory?'' 

In accord with the foregoing are the words 
of Daniel March, D. D. In his book entitled, 
"Our Father's House," he says: — 

"And surely He who has multiplied forms of life 
beyond all finite conception in this world has not 
left the countless millions of worlds in His great 
kingdom without living inhabitants to enjoy His 
gifts and to declare His glory. If the greatest 
astronomer cannot count the suns and systems that 
blaze in the midnight heavens because they are so 
many^ so vast^ so far remote^ how much less can we 
conceive the numbers and orders and generations 
of living creatures for whom the great creating 
Father hath provided habitations and happiness in 
all the universe of worlds which declare His glory! 

"We sweep the heavens with the mightiest tele- 
scope^ and we look with dazzled eye and aching 
brain amid the infinite blaze of worlds to find the 



"OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS" 121 

one central throne^ around which all suns and sys- 
tems revolve. 

'*You have only to learn diligently and cheerfully 
the lessons which God's Word and Providence now 
set before you^ and by and by the veil will be 
lifted^ the doors of your Father's house will be 
thrown open^ and you shall be free to range through 
all its million- fold mansions; you shall have full 
access to all its infinite delights. With immortal 
sons of the morning for your guides^ you shall pass 
over immeasurable reaches of space where towering 
constellations scale the heights of eternity; and be- 
fore you shall be the life of everlasting ages^ in 
which to learn how much God has done for His own 
glory and His creatures' good. 

**And in the midst of all the splendors of that 
mighty habitation^ whose apartments are suns and 
systems and worlds, exalted upon the central throne 
in some great capital of universal empire you shall 
see 'One like unto the Son of man/ and when you 
behold His face, and you see upon His hands the 
scars of the conflict through which He passed in 
this world that He might bring you to that high and 
holy habitation, you will understand better than you 
do now how much the infinite God loved the lost race 
of man in giving His Divine Son to the shame and 
agony of the Cross, that he might bring many sons 
unto the glory and blessedness of heaven." 

The latest photo-telescopic developments en- 
large our knowledge of the number of dis- 
covered worlds to the grand total of 60,000. 



122 MELCHIZEDEK 

Over each of these worlds possessing inhabi- 
tants Christ doubtless placed a man, created 
in His own image, as the head, the father, the 
progenitor, to replenish his world with his own 
family. At least, this would be His plan if 
we reason from the analogy of our own world, 
for the expression given us of the counsel be- 
tween the Father and the Son relative to the 
creating of the first man of our world and to 
the peopling of that world was, "Let us make 
man in our image, after our likeness," and to 
the man He said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, 
and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and 
have dominion . . . over everything thait 
moveth upon the earth." (Gen. i, 26, 28.) 

That Jesus made provision in the creation 
of all worlds for their complete replenishing 
each with a race of beings in His own image or 
character, is further suggested in the follow- 
ing words: "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to re- 
ceive glory and honor and power ; for thou hast 
created all things and for thy pleasure they 
are and were created." (Rev. iv, 11.) His 
pleasure is in making others happy, and, prov- 
ing that He finds joy in inhabited worlds, 
speaking of Himself, He says, "Rejoicing in 
the habitable parts of the earth; and my de- 
lights were with the sons of men" (Prov. viii, 
31); "be ye glad and rejoice forever in that 



"OTHER WORLDS THAN OXJRS" 123 

which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem 
a rejoicing and her people a joy, and I will re- 
joice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people" 
(Isa. Ixv, 18, 19), "in whom is my delight'^ 
(Psa. xvi. 3). Some of these worlds antedated 
the creation of our world, for when the crea- 
tion of the earth was projected in the council 
of heaven "the morning stars sang together, 
and all the Sons of God shouted for joy." 
(Job xxxviii, 7.) (These Sons of God being 
heads of worlds.) 

Finally we quote from the pen of Mrs. E. G. 
White. She asserts that "our little world, the 
one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be 
honored above all other worlds in the universe 
of God." ("Desire of Ages," Trade Edition, 
p. 28.) "The worlds unf alien and the heav- 
enly angels had watched with intense interest 
as the conflict (in the life of Christ) drew to 
its close." (Ibid, p. 827.) 

In speaking of the binding of Satan during 
the millennium, the same author declares: 
"Limited to the earth, he will not have access 
to other worlds to tempt and annoy those who 
have never fallen" ("Great Controversy," p. 
659) ; and in referring to the delights of the 
redeemed she says, — "All of the treasures of 
the universe will be open to the study of God's 
redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing 



IM MELCHIZEDEK 

their tireless flight to worlds afar, — worlds that 
thrilled with sorrow at human woe, and rang 
with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ran- 
somed soul." (Ibid, p. 677.) 

Quoting further from the same writer: — 
"But the plan of redemption had a yet 
broader and deeper purpose than the salvation 
of man. It was not for this alone that Christ 
came to the earth ... it was to vindicate the 
character of God before the universe. To this 
result of His great sacrifice, — its influence 
upon the intelligences of other worlds, as well 
as upon man, — the Savior looked forward 
when, just before His crucifixion. He said, 
^Now is the judgment of this world, now shall 
the prince of this world be cast out, and I, if 
I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men 
unto me.' 

"It was the marvel of all the universe that 
Christ should humble Himself to save fallen 
man. That He who had passed from star to 
star, from world to world, superintending all, by 
His providence supplying the needs of every or- 
der of beings in His vast creation, — that He 
should consent to leave His glory and take upon 
Himself human nature was a mystery which 
the sinless intelligences of other worlds desired 
to understand." (P. 69.) 



CHAPTER IX 

THE SUPERNATURAL IN THE PLAN 
OF REDEMPTION 

''Some have entertained angels unawares." (Heb. 
xiii, 2.) 

There have ever been those who stumbled at 
the idea of the supernatural things set forth 
in the Scriptures. Of this class were the Sad- 
ducees of old, who said that there was "no 
resurrection, neither angel nor spirit." (Acts 
xxiii, 8.) But to deny the supernatural in 
connection with this world is to nullify the 
Word of God and to deny the whole plan of 
salvation, which includes the supernatural con- 
ception by which Jesus came into the world. 
His miracles. His resurrection, and ascension 
were all supernatural, as is also His coming 
again. It is a matter of faith to accept the 
supernatural as set forth in God's Word, ac- 
cording to which Melchizedek was both a mys- 
terious and supernatural being. 

Abraham must have recognized Melchizedek 

as a superior being from another world, else 

he would not have paid tithes to him, nor would 

195 



126 MELCHIZEDEK 

he have received a blessing at his hands. 
There was no member of our race in Abraham's 
day who was superior to him, and who was 
thereby qualified to confer the blessing of 
heaven upon the "father of the faithful." 

If Melchizedek had been a member of our 
human family, and if it was possible to have 
established his priesthood — superior beyond 
comparison to the Aaronic — in this world at 
the time when he was here, and was recognized 
as the priest of the Most High God hy Abra- 
ham, why did not Jehovah choose and establish 
the Melchizedek order here, instead of the 
Aaronic? Would he discard the superior for 
the inferior.^ The only logical conclusion is 
that Melchizedek was not a member of our hu- 
man family ; and, further, that the position in 
this order of priesthood for our world once 
held by Adam, but forfeited in consequence of 
his sin, — ^which brought upon him the sentence 
of death, whereas with the Melchizedek priest- 
hood goes the power of endless life, — could not 
be reestablished in our human family until One 
was born to our race in Whom was vested all 
of the prerogatives, and Who would accomplish 
all that was necessary to qualify Him to fill 
that exalted position for our world. Such a 
One was the man Christ Jesus, — the "last 
Adam." 



THE SUPERNATURAL 127 

The place chosen by Melchlzedek for his 
abode while here, with its immediate environ- 
ment, was preeminently the place above all 
others on the entire face of the globe for the 
manifestation of the supernatural. It is be- 
lieved that here the angel of the Lord stayed 
the hand of Abraham when he was about to 
offer his son upon the altar of sacrifice, and 
the ram was miraculously entangled in the 
thicket to provide an acceptable sacrifice. 
(Gen. xxii, 2, 10-18.) It was here that David 
saw an angel who had been sent to smite the 
city. (II Sam. xxiv, 16, 17.) The angel of 
the Lord smote 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian 
army who were encamped against Jerusalem in 
one night. (II Kings xix, 35.) 

Again the angel of the Lord appeared to 
Zacharias pre-announcing the birth of John 
the Baptist. It was on the pinnacle of the 
temple at Jerusalem that Satan appeared per- 
sonally and talked face to face with the Savior 
of men. At Jerusalem numerous prophets, 
filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed God's 
will to men. 

It was at this center that darkness over- 
spread the land for the space of three hours 
when Jesus hung on the cross, where also the 
rocks were rent and the dead came forth and 
appeared to many, and the veil of the temple 



128 MELCHIZEDEK 

was rent from top to bottom by an unseen 
hand, and, greatest of all supernatural mani- 
festations, the Lord of Glory came forth from 
the tomb, and from the Mount of Olives near 
at hand ascended bodily to heaven. 

It was at this center of religious phenomena 
that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the 
Day of Pentecost, which conferred upon men 
the gift of tongues by which the gospel was 
given such mighty impetus when the apostles 
stood up and preached the crucified One to 
"men out of every nation under heaven." Here 
also many mighty miracles were wrought, some 
of which were acknowledged by the faithless 
Sanhedrin. (Acts iv, 16.) History informs 
us that just prior to the destruction of Jeru- 
salem in A. D. 70, a strange, mysterious man 
went through the streets of the city day and 
night uttering the warning note, "Woe to the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem." It was to this 
point that a supernatural star guided the 
Magi. 

He who does not accept the idea of the visi- 
tation of supernatural beings to our world does 
not accept the authority of the Bible. To dis- 
card the supernatural is to reject the Christian 
religion. Seeing that the plan of salvation is 
so largely built upon the supernatural, it is 
not inconsistent to regard Melchizedek, who 



THE SUPERNATURAL 129 

possessed attributes which make it seem Impos- 
sible that he could have been a member of our 
human family, as a supernatural being — a tem- 
porary visitor from another world. 

But not to go Into further details to prove 
that the power of God was manifest in the pro- 
duction of the supernatural at Jerusalem, it 
will suffice to say that here Jesus will eventually, 
in taking possession of His kingdom, descend 
and establish His capital city and accomplish 
the supreme supernatural event in the trans- 
formation of the entire earth from its present 
state of desolation to its Edenic beauty and 
perfection. 

But why elaborate on this thought? Surely 
no one who has faith In God's word will cavil 
at the manifestation of the supernatural — the 
miraculous — in the plan of salvation, and hence 
will not be staggered at the appearance of 
Melchizedek in our world. From the view- 
point of the writer, the unfathomable mystery, 
as touching this theme, Into which the religious 
world has been plunged for eighteen centuries 
came as a result of ignoring the supernatural, 
and in counting Melchizedek simply a natural, 
Canaanitish priest, although set forth by In- 
spiration to have been higher than Abraham 
and superior to Aaron, who was the first high 
priest of the Levitical order. 



130 MELCHIZEDEK 

When Abraham was called of God to dwell 
in Canaan he resided there as a sojourner, a 
stranger in a strange land, among nations who 
were altogether heathen. While sojourning 
there he met Melchizedek and received a bless- 
ing at his hands. Abraham's descendants 
dwelt in Egypt until they had increased to ap- 
proximately three millions of souls. Then 
Jehovah, in the carrying out of His purpose 
to make of the seed of Abraham a separate and 
distinct nation by whom He might perpetuate 
His name and His truth in the earth, and who 
were to be the progenitors of Christ, issued the 
call for them to return to the land wherein 
Abraham had sojourned and where he had met 
Melchizedek. Accompanying the call was the 
charge that the nations dwelling in the land 
(all of whom were heathen) should be either 
cast out or destroyed. In taking forceful pos- 
session of the land, so far as the record in- 
forms us, only one person and her household 
were found who met the approval of Heaven 
and were, therefore, spared. This person was 
Rahab, who by marriage came into the family 
line by which Jesus came into the world. If 
the deathless Melchizedek and his kingdom were 
in Palestine at this time why were they not men- 
tioned as escaping destruction? 

In the occupancy of the land by conquest 



THE SUPERNATURAL 131 

Melchlzedek was not discovered, either as an in- 
dividual or as serving in his office as priest-king. 
Someone will be inclined to say that "so much 
time had elapsed that he had been removed by 
the hand of death." But the Scriptures as- 
sert that he never died and that "he abideth a 
priest continually." (Heb. vii, 3, 8.) Further- 
more, he has not been discovered to the pres- 
ent day. Therefore, his priestly service and 
his righteous kingdom did not belong to this 
world, nor was he a member of our human 
family, for it is manifestly impossible that a 
king, being a man greater in the estimation of 
heaven than Abraham (and the title is nothing 
unless he possessed a kingdom), a priest greater 
than all in the Aaronic line, should have a king- 
dom and a perpetual priesthood in this world, 
and yet no discovery be made either of himself 
or of his kingdom in the land where Abraham 
met him when the descendants of the latter re- 
turned with the God-given charge to destroy or 
drive out the nations possessing the land, all 
of whom were declared of heaven to have been 
the embodiment of wickedness. 



CHAPTER X 

DIVINE LOVE PROMPTED THE 
CHOICE 

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our 
faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured 
the cross, despising the shame, and is set doion at the 
right hand of the throne of .God/' (Heb. xii, ^.) 

The question might with propriety be raised, 
''Why did the Son of God choose to identify 
Himself to all eternity with the people of a 
fallen world ?" The inhabitants of other w^orlds 
all possessed characters of perfect beauty and 
symmetry. To associate with them would be 
to drink perpetual joy. Companionship with 
them would be an endless stream of love, glid- 
ing on without a ripple of inharmony as the 
ages would roll into blissful eternity: no 
treachery in an unfallen world ; no betrayal ; no 
death scenes ; no anguish of soul to force drops 
of life-blood from the brow of the innocent One ; 
no crown of thorns ; no cruel mocking ; no 
fainting under the weight of a terrible Roman 
cross ; no piercing nails for hands and feet ; no 

sense of the sinner's condemnation with the 

132 



LOVE PROMPTED CHOICE 133 

Father's presence withdrawn, causing soul- 
agony more excruciating than all the physical 
suffering; no tasting the extreme bitterness of 
death ; no satanic faces wearing the debauched, 
murderous imprint ; but instead every counte- 
nance bespeaking an intellect that could drink 
in and fully appreciate the thoughts of the In- 
finite One; every face beaming with holy joy. 
Friend, why did Christ choose this earth as 
the land of His nativity, this people as His as- 
sociates, His brethren? There is but one an- 
swer to the question. He knew that there was 
but one world in all space that was filled with 
sorrow and woe and was doomed to be lost, — 
lost forever unless He identified Himself with 
it, unless He paid the penalty of its transgres- 
sions. There was one secret to the ap- 
parently strange choice that He made. His 
very nature is love, and that Divine love 
prompted Him — compelled Him — fellow-sinner, 
to come from the highest position in glory to 
the lowest depths of shame and suffering to 
rescue us from our doom. As it is written, 
"Who for the joy that was set before Him en- 
dured the cross, despising the shame," and 
again, "He shall see of the travail of His soul 
and shall be satisfied," with the price that He 
paid for our salvation. "Wherefore God hath 
highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that 



134 MELCHIZEDEK 

is above every name, that at the name of Jesus 
every knee should bow — and that every tongue 
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the 
glory of God the Father." 

The glory of His works as Creator gave Him 
an exalted name, but the love of God manifested 
in redemption added to His original glory gave 
Him a name that is above every name. 

*'Jesus^ my Shepherd^ Guardian, Friend; 
My Prophet, Priest and King, 
For all the blessings Thou dost send. 
Accept the praise I bring." 



CHAPTER XI 

THE PURPOSE OF MELCHIZEDEK'S 
VISIT 

"For we are made a spectacle (theater, margin) unto 
the world, and to angels, and to men," (I Cor. iv, 9.) 

The conclusion being beyond controversy that 
the Melchizedek to whom the "father of the 
faithful" paid tithes was not a member of our 
human family, and that his kingdom was not 
of this world, but instead that he was the Adam, 
the everlasting father of another planet, — the 
query naturally arises, "How came he into our 
world, and what was the purpose of his visit?" 

The possibility of his coming, as well as his 
ability to come, is proven by the fact of the 
gathering of the "Sons of God" from their 
various worlds to worship in the immediate pres- 
ence of the Creator. The purpose of his visit 
is suggested in the statement that the people 
of this world "are made a spectacle" [theater], 
"to angels, and to men." (I Cor. iv, 9.) There 
is full Scripture evidence that our world is the 

only one in the universe that has fallen; our 

135 



136 MELCHIZEDEK 

Adam the only head of a world who has plunged 
his descendants into the gulf of sin with all the 
attendant wretchedness terminating, with those 
out of Christ, in eternal death. 

This world then is the battle ground where 
the great controversy between righteousness 
and sin is being fought to a finish. It is also 
the only complete object lesson of the direful 
results of sin to be found in all the boundless 
expanse of space. 

The visit of Melchizedek to this world would 
afford him opportunity to behold what utter 
ruin and woe sin has wrought ; to compare the 
gloom of this "vale of tears" with the unsullied 
brightness and unalloyed happiness of his sin- 
less homeland. As angels came to Eden to 
warn Adam and Eve of the terrible danger of 
joining the tempter in rebellion, so Melchize- 
dek, with the direful results of sin indelibly im- 
pressed upon his mind, and with that desire in- 
tensified which would naturally burn in the 
bosom of every right-minded father to preserve 
his own household from ruin when beholding the 
desolation of another, would return to his 
"Salem," and in a general assembly of his bliss- 
ful family vividly describe to them some of the 
woeful scenes of a sin-polluted world, to the 
end that they might forever avoid the sad mis- 
take which resulted in the awful plunge of our 



PURPOSE OF VISIT 137 

world into its state of misery. He would exhort 
them to retain their "first estate" of innocence, 
purity, holiness and loyalty to God, by which 
only could their supreme happiness continue, 
their homes be preserved from sickness, blood- 
shed, insanity, and from the ravages of the king 
of terrors — Death ; their land be saved from 
the terrorizing and death-dealing agencies of 
storms, uncontrollable fires, hot thunderbolts, 
floods, cyclones, tidal waves, earthquakes. 
Continuing his comparison of the two worlds, 
reference would naturally be made to such fa- 
miliar scenes of our world as drunkenness, 
homeless children, broken hearts, death-bed 
partings, populous cities of the dead, and deadly 
battle scenes. 

What an opportunity would thus be afforded 
to make the impression upon minds which have 
never been dulled by the deadening influence of 
sin! What a marvelous contrast between the 
two worlds ! And yet the redeemed inhabitants 
of this world will, by the spending of their en- 
tire mortal lives in beholding the present ob- 
ject lesson of sin, finally have a greater dread 
of yielding to it forever than the people of any 
other world in the universe, — this on the prin- 
ciple that the child who has once felt the pain 
produced by contact with fire thereafter avoids 
danger of experiencing its scorching eff^ects. 



138 MELCHIZEDEK 

Someone will ask, "Why did Abraham pay- 
tithes to this distinguished visitor from another 
world?" I answer, "What better and wiser 
provision could have been made for his material 
entertainment than by affording this privilege 
to the most prominent, heaven-approved man of 
our race of that day?" And again, what bet- 
ter opportunity was there for "the father of 
the faithful" to set the example of tithe-pay- 
ing, and receive the blessing which will surely 
follow true conformity to Jehovah's system of 
supporting the priesthood and the ministry/ 

1 Some are perplexed over the matter of Melchizedek 
having received tithes from Abraham, and especially so 
in view of the fact that the tithes paid were a portion 
of the "spoils" of war. A careful reading of the ac- 
count will reveal the fact that Abraham's conquest was 
solely for the purpose of recovering "the persons" and 
"the goods" which had been stolen from Sodom. "The 
persons" were restored to the king of Sodom, a tithe of 
"the goods and victuals" were given to Melchizedek, and 
the remainder of the same returned to the king of 
Sodom, except the portion eaten by the young men and 
given to a few others who had joined Abraham in the 
pursuit of the kings who made the assault upon Sodom. 
Thus the only "spoils" of war that were received by 
Melchizedek were "goods" and "victuals"; which was 
suitable provision for his entertainment by "the father 
of the faithful" while the former was here as a tempo- 
rary visitor. (Gen. xiv, 11-24; Heb. 1, 1, 2.) 

The presence of the exalted Melchizedek gave Abraham 
the opportunity to pay tithes, and to receive in return 
for faithfulness the blessing of heaven which Melchize- 
dek, as "priest of the Most High God," was by virtue 



PURPOSE OF VISIT 139 

THE OFFICE OF PRIESTHOOD IN A SINLESS 
WORLD 

Anticipating another seeming objection to 
the line of thought which may arise in medita- 
tive minds, it may be well to state that the idea 
of the priesthood does not necessarily refer to 
those who act as intercessors. Certainly in an 
unfallen world there could be no intercession 
for sin. The interpretation of the name of 
Melchizedek suggests no thought of intercession 
for sin, and his God-given name implies exactly 
what he is. Webster gives the primary defini- 
tion of the Greek term for priest as "older, an 
elder, an old man." 

of his priestly office prepared to bestow. By follow- 
ing the example of "the father of the faithful" in the 
payment of tithes to those who now minister in holy 
things, we will receive from Christ, our Priest of the 
Most High God after the order of Melchizedek, the full- 
ness of heaven's blessing, for Christ is both prepared 
and empowered to bestow it. How could it have been 
possible for the highest man of our race in the world 
to have set the example of tithe-paying had not a higher 
person from another world been present at the oppor- 
tune time. It does not seem consistent that Abraham 
would knowingly have paid tithes to a Canaanitish 
priest, or have received a blessing at his hands, for he 
had received definite instructions from the Lord con- 
cerning the wickedness of the Canaanites. And still 
another question arises: "Was any Canaanitish priest 
prepared to bestow the blessing of heaven upon the 
'father of the faithful'? Or was any Canaanite en- 
titled to the distinction, Spriest of the Most High God'?" 



140 MELCHIZEDEK 

In the ancient Jewish economy there were 
*Heaching priests." A "priest of the Most 
High God" in an unfallen world would fill the 
exalted offices of father, leader, and representa- 
tive of his people in worship, and of "king of 
righteousness" and "king of peace under Him 
who hath prepared His throne in the heavens" 
and whose "kingdom ruleth over all." Our 
High Priest once offered the supreme sacrifice 
of Himself, and now pleads His blood in behalf 
of His people ; but when the necessity passes 
He will cease to act as an Intercessor. Still, 
He will be our Priest-King, our Melchizedek. 

In our world the inhabitants who feel the 
necessity of a Savior from sin associate the 
idea of the office of priest with intercession. 
The Savior of men, beholding our fatherless 
condition, volunteered to become our "Everlast- 
ing Father," our Intercessor. He gives us the 
assurance that if we ask in His name He "will 
pray the Father for" us ; and "if any man sin, 
we have an Advocate with the Father." We 
have then a "Great High Priest that is passed 
into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God." In 
all things, under Jehovah, He must have the pre- 
eminence. In an unfallen world the people 
would not associate the office of priesthood with 
the idea of intercession for sin. 

In the book of Hebrews and in the idea of 



PURPOSE OF VISIT 141 

the Melchizedek order of priesthood, how is 
our Great High Priest exalted, magnified, beau- 
tified, glorified? By what attributes of char- 
acter, what work expressive of supreme love, 
will He ever be entitled to and gladly accorded 
the "preeminence in all things" above all the 
Melchizedeks in the universe? The answer is 
not difficult to the redeemed who have seen Him 
as "the One altogether lovely, the Chiefest 
among ten thousand." 

No other Melchizedek is creator. None 
other saw his world lost by transgression and 
doomed to destruction unless the most heroic 
and self-sacrificing measures were adopted for 
its redemption. None else endured the agony 
of the Garden of heart-breaking sorrow ; the 
cruel, heartless forsaking of his own friends. 
No other prince of peace ever wore a crown of 
thorns, or submitted to the mocking, the re- 
viling, the smiting, the spitting from vile lips 
into a guileless face, and all without a murmur. 
No other king of righteousness "for the joy 
that was set before him endured" the shameful 
uplifting on a cruel Roman cross, felt the nails 
driven through his flesh, and in anguish of soul 
experienced the withdrawal of his Father's pres- 
ence, felt the chill of death creeping over him, 
the pouring out of his life-blood, — all for a race 
of rebels. No other Melchizedek ever passed 



142 MELCHIZEDEK 

through the gates of the tomb and thus tri- 
umphed gloriously over sin, death and the 
originator of both. None other will ever wrest 
his family from the grave and destroy death and 
its author. 

In very truth, all other Melchizedeks with 
their myriad children are dependent for original 
life and continued existence upon our Melchize- 
dek. Surely in the galaxy of inhabited worlds 
in space, each created and upheld by Him, — 
each having its ^'everlasting father," its "king 
of righteousness," — that "Child," who "unto 
us" was born, that "Son" who was given to our 
human family, will in all things have the pre- 
eminence: will be transcendent in glory above 
them all; and by His sacrifice, by the winning 
power of His love, all, — angels and men of all 
worlds, — will be bound in love and loyalty to 
the King of Heaven ; and our world, now over- 
shadowed by the gloom of sin and death, will 
be the most brilliant planet in the universe, for 
even the sun shall be ashamed of his brightness 
when "the Son of Righteousness" shall reign 
"on Mount Zion and before His ancients, 
gloriously." 

"Now in the things which we are saying, the 
chief point is this ; we have such a High Priest, 
who is set on the right hand of the throne of the 
Majesty in the heavens ; a minister of the sane- 



PURPOSE OF VISIT 143 

tuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord 
pitched and not man." (Heb. viii, 1 R. V.) 

"Crown Him with many crowns^ 

The Lamb upon His throne; 
Hark ! how the heavenly anthem drowns 

All music but its own! 
Awake^ my soul^ and sing 

Of Him who died for thee; 
And hail Him as thy matchless King 

Through all eternity." 

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to en- 
ter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a 
new and living way, which he hath consecrated 
for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh ; 
And having an high priest over the house of 
God ; Let us draw near with a true heart in full 
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled 
from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed 
with pure water." (Heb. x, 19-22.) 



CHAPTER XII 

THE THRONE OF THE UNIVERSE TO 
BE TRANSFERRED TO THE EARTH 

''And he . , . showed me that great city, the holy 
Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven." ''And 
there shall he no more curse: hut the throne of God and 
of the Lamh shall he in it; and His servants shall serve 
Him." (Rev. xxi, 10; xxii, 3.) 

It may be a matter of amazement to some to 
learn that the throne of the universe will event- 
ually be established in the earth. Inspired 
proof of this truth is found in the statement 
that "the throne of God, and of the Lamb shall 
be in it, and His servants shall serve Him." 
(Rev. xxii, 1-3; Rev. xxi, 3.) These words oc- 
cur as an essential part of the description of 
the New Jerusalem, the capital city of the earth 
made new. 

But why the necessity for the location of the 

"throne of God and of the Lamb" in this earth.? 

Careful reflection upon this subject will reveal 

the fact that with the choice of both the Father 

and Son that this world should be the eternal 

kingdom of Christ, that this land should be the 

144 



THE THRONE TRANSFERRED 145 

land of His nativity, this people His own flesh 
and blood, — His brethren: with this choice, I 
repeat, went inevitably the decision that when 
the time is fully come for Christ to set up His 
kingdom here the throne of the universe must 
be transferred to this world. This conclusion 
is logical, rational and scriptural as weU. 

It is not logical to conclude that there will be 
two seats of authority, two centers of omnipo- 
tence — all power — in the universe. The Fa- 
ther and Son will rule and reign conjointly 
upon the same throne and at the same center 
throughout eternity. A council of peace will 
ever exist between them both. It is even sug- 
gested that this earth will not always occupy 
its present location relative to our solar system 
and to the universe. This suggestion is found 
in the statement that "the earth shall be re- 
moved out of its place like a cottage." How- 
ever this may be, it is but natural that the 
throne of authority, the power center of the 
universe, should be placed at the mathematical 
center of all solar systems. In harmony with 
this thought are the following words of a well- 
known author employed in describing the loca- 
tion of the throne of the universe when this 
world shall have been redeemed forever from 
the power of sin. The quotation reads thus : 

"Suns and stars and systems^ all in their ap- 



146 MELCHIZEDEK 

pointed order, circling the throne of Deity." 
("Great Controversy/' p. 677.) 

How encouraging, how inspiring the thought 
for the inhabitants of this world, who have been 
in succession groaning under the excruciating 
load of sin for 6,000 weary years, that event- 
ually their Eden home will be the brightest, the 
most glorious spot in all the universe, and they 
the most favored beings, ever enjoying the pres- 
ence of God, as it is written: "And they shall 
see His face," and "in Thy presence is fullness 
of joy" ; "at Thy right hand there are pleasures 
forevermore." How complete will be the tri- 
umph over sin and Satan when this world, hav- 
ing been, because of sin, the darkest spot in all 
the universe and the place where the prince of 
darkness thought to establish his kingdom of 
misery forever, is wrested by the Mighty One 
from his grasp, and, purified, is made the 
brightest, happiest spot in all the universe. 

When Christ, by becoming a member of our 
human family and by completely vanquishing 
Satan, had won back the dominion lost by Adam, 
He became the lawful Heir to this world. 
When we, through the strength of a risen Sav- 
ior, triumph over Satan and become sons of 
God by being born from above (Jno. i, 12, 13), 
then we are counted joint-heirs with Christ in 
the kingdom. (Rom. viii, 16, 17.) And thus 



THE THRONE TRANSFERRED 147 

it IS that the kingdom and dominion and the 
greatness of the kingdom under the whole 
heaven shall be given to the people of the saints 
of the Most High. (Dan. vii, 27.) The only 
begotten Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord, 
became the Melchizedek of this world that He 
might win it back to the universe of Jehovah. 
To accomplish this glorious result was He born 
into our world as one of earth's inhabitants. 

It is the purpose of Jehovah that the uni- 
versal family shall be connected with Him in- 
dissolubly. This was manifest in the creation, 
for He made each of the heads of worlds a 
"son of God." Thus Adam was a "son of God" 
(Luke iii, 38), but when our first parent had 
broken the connection between this world and 
God, — forfeited his sonship, — to reestablish the 
essential connection between Jehovah and man 
the chasm must be bridged by the awful sacri- 
fice of Christ, who left His exalted position and 
gave Himself to be the Head and Melchizedek 
of this world. When finally, by the condescen- 
sion of Christ, all of the wounds and scars of 
sin are healed, the riven creation will be re- 
stored, eternally mended, and then again will 
all "the sons of God" shout in unison for over- 
flowing joy, even as they did in the beginning 
when the creation of this world was projected 
in the councils of the Father and Son. Then 



148 MELCHIZEDEK 

upon this earth will rest the throne of God ; to 
this earth will come the myriads of the "sons 
of God" to the perennial councils of a glorified 
universe. From this earth will go forth the 
"sons of God," filled with wisdom and radiant 
with glory, to teach an erstwhile disturbed uni- 
verse that God is wisdom, God is love. 

Those who have endured all of the terrors 
incident to sin, — temptation, trial, suffering, 
suspension between hope and despair, persecu- 
tion (and the great majority of them overcome 
by the grim monster Death), — in this world, 
and under it all have developed characters which 
will place them on an equality with the angels, 
will be honored with the most favored place of 
any of God's creatures in all the universe, for 
no others will have passed through the same 
experiences, none will have developed characters 
under like adverse conditions. God has an- 
ticipated and made provision for this award in 
the plan of salvation, for when His eternal pur- 
pose is made complete "the throne of God and 
of the Lamb" will be transferred to this world, 
and the tabernacle of God will be with men, 
"and He will dwell with them, and they shall 
be His people, and God Himself shall be with 
them, and be their God." And yet all this is 
simply "the exceeding riches of His grace in 
His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." 



THE THRONE TRANSFERRED 149 

Sin is but an incident in the eternity of God's 
universe, yet an awful incident, because a test- 
ing incident ; of itself it would have wrecked the 
universe, but God will make it a means of glori- 
fying the goodness and mercy of the Divine 
Government. Sin, too, is but temporary; it 
will pass away and leave behind a clean universe, 
settled, established, forever founded on eternally 
tested and chosen principles. But because sin 
is temporary, that phase of priesthood which 
directly pertains to the putting away of sin 
is likewise only for a time. Hence God gave 
the object lesson of the primitive sacrifices dur- 
ing the patriarchal age. Hence, also. He gave 
the object lessons of the more elaborate sacri- 
fices and ceremonies of the Levitical or Aaronic 
priesthood, extending from Sinai to Calvary, 
— from Moses to Christ. 

Then when all is over, all of the incident of 
sin is past, all the marring of the universe by 
sin is healed, all the redeemed are delivered, and 
are shining, and singing the holy, deep-toned 
bass of the universal anthem of praise, when 
that spot of God's universe where sin rested 
heaviest shall know "no more curse," — then 
upon this earth, where was tested the govern- 
ment and goodness of God, shall rest the throne 
of God and of the Lamb. Then shall go forth 
redeemed sons of God to all the universe to 



150 MELCHIZEDEK 

bear the story of God's tested love to worlds 
yet to be created and peopled, priests of the 
Most High, bearing ever the bloodless, spiritual 
sacrifices of praise and loving service. And 
these eternal blessings are in God's plan of- 
fered to all. "What love, O my God, what 
love!" 



CHAPTER XIII 
OTHER VIEWS TESTED 

MELCHiZEDEK WAS NOT CHRIST, because : 

1. An individual cannot be a type of himself, 
else similitude and identity are the same thing. 

2. Jehovah would not declare that Christ was 
made a Priest like unto Himself or after His 
own similitude, or a Priest after His own order. 
(Psa. ex, 4.) It would seem irreverent to say 
that God swore His Son's priesthood was like 
His Son's priesthood. 

3. It requires more than one to constitute an 
"order." Melchizedek was one: Christ ^'an- 
other'' after the same "order." (Heb. vii, 15.) 

4. Christ had a mother, and a genealogy: 
was born "an infant of days": had an end of 
life. It is witnessed of Melchizedek that "He 
liveth" and that "He abideth a priest continu- 
ally." In the days of Melchizedek Christ could 
not consistently be our High Priest, for He had 
not yet been born into our family. 

5. Melchizedek is not entitled to the names 

which belong to the Creator and Redeem.er. 

151 



15a MELCHIZEDEK 

MELCHIZEDEK COULD NOT BE THE HOLY SPIRIT 
PERSONIFIED, f OF : 

1. There is no Scripture evidence that the 
Holy Spirit fills the office of priest-king with a 
seat of government called "Salem." Jehovah 
Himself reigns as King in the heavenly Jeru- 
salem, and Christ is associated with Him upon 
the throne. The Holy Spirit comes as a voice, 
not as a man. 

2. Every high priest is taken from among 
men, (Heb. ii, 11, 14-18 ; v, 1, 2.) The Holy 
Spirit is not a man. 

3. Where is the scriptural authority that 
the Holy Spirit is a type of Christ? It is His 
representative, but not a type of Him. 

4. The Abrahamic Melchizedek was evidently 
inferior to Christ. We are not justified in 
making any distinction in regard to the rank 
of these two persons of the Godhead: i. e., the 
Holy Spirit and Christ. 

5. It would at least seem superfluous to teU 
us that the Holy Spirit is "without father and 
mother." 

6. What reason have we for believing that the 
Holy Spirit is a member of an "order" of 
priesthood .f^ 



OTHER VIEWS TESTED 153 

MELCHIZEDEK WAS NOT AN ANGEL./ f Or : 

1. Angels do not reign in capital cities as 
priest-kings. 

2. The inspired record does not liken them 
unto the Son of God. They all worship; Him. 

3. None of that heavenly order abide high 
priests continually. 

4. High priests must be "taken from among 
men,^^ — from among the very class of beings 
for whom they are to officiate. 

MELCHIZEDEK WAS NOT A MEMBER OF OUR 
HUMAN FAMILY, for I 

1. With the exception of the first pair, our 
race have had "beginning of days" as infants, 
have had parentage ; and "in Adam all die." 
Melchizedek "liveth." 

2. None of our race, save Christ, abide high 
priests continually, and none other have an un- 
changeable high-priesthood. 

3. None of our race were priest-kings of the 
Most High in Abraham's day. 

4. There is no record of such a kingdom in 
this world as that over which Melchizedek ruled. 
It is incredible that such a nation could have 

1 "Angel" is here used as meaning one of the heavenly 
host. The term literally means "messenger." In this 
latter sense the "sons of God" mentioned in Job i, 6, 
might consistently be called "angels." 



154 MELCHIZEDEK 

existed and there be no record of it. Certainly 
such a nation, had it existed in our World, would 
have been chosen for the preservation of God's 
Word and Name in the earth, and for. the proc- 
lamation of His Truth to mankind. 

If Melchizedek was a member of our human 
family and was the king of a righteous nation 
in our world in Abraham's day, why should God 
choose Abraham to "make of him a great and 
mighty nation" to be the conservator of His 
Truth in the earth, and to be the progenitor of 
Christ? 

5. If a "better" man of our race than Abra- 
ham was on earth in Abraham's day, surely God 
would have chosen the better to fill the exalted 
position of "father of the faithful." 

We know of no other class of beings of which 
Melchizedek could be a member, save the inhab- 
itants of other worlds than our own. He was 
not a fabled being. 



CHAPTER XIV 

RECAPITULATION 

After the treatise necessary to amply fortify 
and elucidate any line of scriptural thought, a 
review in simple outline will enable the reader, 
at a glance, to take a more comprehensive view 
of the ground covered. Infinite wisdom de- 
signed that certain features of gospel truth 
should be "kept secret," "from the beginning 
of the world," until the opportune time should 
arrive for their full revelation; "to the intent 
that now^^ "might be" [made] "known by the 
church the manifold wisdom of God, according 
to the eternal purpose which He purposed in 
Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. xvi, 25, 26; 
Eph. iii, 10-11.) 

OUTLINE 

The Melchizedek who blessed Abraham was 
not Christ. Christ is [our] Melchizedek. 

THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK OF HEBREWS is to 

exalt the priesthood of Christ. The climax of 

this inspired exaltation is reached in the declara- 

155 



156 MELCHIZEDEK 

tlon that He is a Priest "forever, after the 
order of Melchizedek." This effort to glorify 
the exalted priesthood of the greatest High 
Priest known to the universe is lost upon us 
unless we can discover the significance of the 
Melchizedek priesthood. 

CHRIST OUR MELCHIZEDEK 

1. The Melchizedek "order" of priesthood 
must be composed of a group of priests, as more 
than one is required to constitute an "order." 
The priesthood of this world was originally 
vested in the father of each family, and thus 
naturally the office of /ligr/i-priesthood would, 
according to the Divine plan, have rested upon 
Adam, the original father of our race : who was 
also the ruler, and father, under God, of this 
world. All things in this world were put under 
his dominion. (Heb. ii, 7, 8.) 

2. When Adam had lost his right to the 
priesthood (fatherhood and representation) of 
this world, and the power to be, in truth, the 
everlasting father of the human family, all 
types and shadows pointed forward to the com- 
ing One as the "seed of the woman," the mem- 
ber of our family, who was to "bruise the ser- 
pent's head," and through conquering him 
wrest from him the kingdom usurped from 
Adam. 



RECAPITULATION 157 

3. It IS clear that Christ was from the begin- 
ning the eternal Son of God, one with the Fa- 
ther, the active Agent in creation. (John i, 
1-3 ; I Cor. viii, 6 ; Col. i, 16 ; Micah v, 2.) 

4. In that very creation He gave His life 
for all His creatures, for with Him is the foun- 
tain of life. (Psa. xxxvi, 9.) He was right- 
eous : He was King: and, therefore. King of 
Righteousness, "Melchizedek" ; and as the fruit 
of righteousness is peace, He was also King of 
Peace, which is King of Salem. 

5. As God's plan is one and harmonious, the 
heads and fathers of inhabited worlds, like 
Christ the preeminent One, were called "sons 
of God," even as Adam was of this world. 
(Luke iii, 38.) As fathers and teachers under 
Christ, each became king of the world of which 
he was the primal created head; as a righteous 
being he also became a king of righteousness, 
king of peace, to all his children, bearing the 
title Melchizedek, the priest of his world, min- 
istering and teaching of the life bestowed in 
him through Christ. From time to time these 
representative kings of their various worlds met 
together. (Job i, 6; ii, 1 ; xxxviii, 7.) 

6. When sin entered the universe of God the 
preeminent Son of God emptied Himself of all 
His glory, "took upon Himself the form of a 
servant," that He might vindicate the charac- 



158 MELCHIZEDEK 

ter of God to be love, and to save all who would 
be saved. 

7. He thus became man, "God with us," 
suffering as man suffered, meeting temptation 
as man must meet it, and conquering that man 
may conquer. Made perfect through suffering, 
He became unto all them that obey Him the 
Author of the eternal salvation, "called of God, 
a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek" 
(Heb. V, 5-10), — the High Priest of this world, 
its Second Father, taking the place lost by 
Adam. 

8. In His priesthood for sinful man He not 
only fills the Melchizedek priesthood, but is also 
antitype of the Levitical priesthood. (He- 
brews viii, 9.) 

9. In the Melchizedek priesthood we found 
the following essentials : righteousness, sonship, 
fatherhood, and eternal life, and, therefore, an 
everlasting priesthood. (Hebrews vii.) 

10. During the interval between the fall of 
the first Adam and the complete triumph over 
Satan, sin and death by the last Adam, Satan 
appeared in the presence of Jehovah with the 
"sons of God," who evidently were representa- 
tives of other worlds. Satan was of this. 
(Job. i, 6, 7 and ii, 1, 2.) 

11. Adam was created a "son of God," placed 
at the head of our world, and doubtless could 



RECAPITULATION 159 

have gone to the throne of the universe to join 
with the "sons of God" of other worlds in wor- 
ship, had he not surrendered his dominion to 
Satan. 

12. Not until Christ had taken those steps 
which made Him our "Everlasting Father," 
the "last Adam," did He become our Priest- 
King, at which time He became our Melchizedek, 
and Melchizedek means priest-king of right- 
eousness and of peace. The steps essential to 
occupying this position were: (a) Being born 
into our human family (a priest must be chosen 
from among the people), (b) He must be a 
sin-conqueror, and therefore a death-conqueror, 
(c) He must triumph over him who caused the 
downfall of the first Adam, and thus wrest the 
dominion from the usurper, (d) "He must 
have somewhat to offer" as a sacrifice for the 
sins of His people, (e) He must have access 
[ascend] to heaven, "anoint the most holy," 
and enter upon his mediatorial work as Repre- 
sentative of our race. Not until He had ac- 
complished all this did He fully become our 
great High Priest "after the order of Melchize- 
dek." 

13. Thus, coincident with His becoming the 
"last Adam," He became our High Priest after 
the aforesaid "order." And thus, logically, 
the "order" is composed of heads of worlds, — 



160 MELCHIZEDEK 

Adams, sons of God, everlasting fathers, priest- 
kings over their respective worlds. 

14. All priest-kings occupy exalted posi- 
tions : all sons of God have high honor ; but our 
Priest-King must in all things have the preemi- 
nence above them all. He is Head of all worlds, 
Creator of all, worshiped by all, both angels 
and men, and yet He is the only one who died 
to redeem His world. No other Melchizedek 
can point to his family and say that he shed 
his blood for their redemption. None other 
created his world. Surely our' "Everlasting 
Father" is entitled to the name "King of kings," 
for He created and upholds the kings of all 
worlds, and has universal dominion. 

15. Doubtless many Melchizedeks have paid 
visits to our world to behold the only object les- 
son of sin's blighting effects in all the universe, 
and have then returned to their own worlds to 
report the results of rebellion against God, as 
witnessed in this "vale of tears," and thus more 
firmly bind their families in loyalty to the gov- 
ernment of heaven. This should not stagger 
our faith if we believe that Moses and Elias 
came from glory to visit our world when 
special occasion required. (Luke ix, '30.) 

16. When Jesus, who is given to our world 
and to our human family to all eternity, comes 
the second time to gather the subjects of His 



RECAPITULATION 161 

^ kingdom, ask Abraham to identify Him. He 
will reply : "This is our Melchizedek." Ask the 
priest-kings of other worlds who this glorious 
Personage is. They will doubtless reply: "He 
is our Creator, King of all worlds." 

17. And our sin-darkened world will be the 
most glorious place in the universe, because He 
who created the sun and with a handful of His 
glory clothed it with unfading brightness will 
dwell with men, will remove His capital city 
to this world and make His dwelling place with 
redeemed humanity forevermore. (Isa. xxiv, 
23; Rev. xxi, 3, 23.) 



APPENDIX 

Much evidence upon all important scriptural 
themes is found scattered through the Sacred 
Volume in fragmentary form. This is true of 
the subject which has been briefly presented in 
the foregoing pages. It seemed best to the au- 
thor not to encumber the body of the book by 
attempting to marshal together all of this frag- 
mentary evidence, and thus interrupt the argu- 
ment. Hence the rather voluminous appendix. 

I. Among all of the priests and priesthoods 
brought to view in the Bible, why is Melchizedek 
and his order of priesthood singled out and 
given such preeminence? A correct under- 
standing of this order of priesthood enlarges 
our minds as to its importance. Surely a 
priest-king who stands at the head of a sinless 
world is an important unit in God's universe. 
The law of the Levitical priesthood made noth- 
ing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope 
(by the Melchizedek priesthood) did. (Heb. 
vii, 19.) 

II. In the helps appended to the Oxford 

Bible, prepared by C. J. Schofield, D.D., the 

169 



APPENDIX 163 

author makes the following comments concern- 
ing the Melchizedek priesthood, "The Melchize- 
dek high-priesthood was greater than the 
Aaronic: (a) because Aaron in Abraham paid 
tithes to Melchizedek; (b) because the Aaronic 
priesthood made nothing perfect; (c) because 
Aaronic priests died." 

III. Was not the Aaronic or Levitical priest- 
hood as exalted as it was possible that any order 
of priesthood, composed of members of our hu- 
man family could be.^ And if it was not the 
highest that could be organized in our human 
family, why did not the Lord select and organ- 
ize the highest order possible to lead His people 
to the greatest possible^ perfection.'^ Surely 
He did not desire anything less than the high- 
est state of perfection in His people, and His 
plan was that that state should be brought 
about through the ministration of the priest- 
hood. Then it must be self-evident that the 
order of the Melchizedek priesthood was not 
composed of members of our fallen humanity, 
for the argument of Paul is that the Melchize- 
dek order is vastly superior to the Aaronic. 
(Heb. vii, 4-8.) 

IV. Paul was careful to state that at the 
time of his writing the book of Hebrews it did 
not seem advisable for him to make full revela- 
tion concerning the identity of Melchizedek. 



164 APPENDIX 

Mark his statement : "Of whom we have many 
things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye 
are dull of hearing." (Heb. v, 11.) And thus 
he left the question for the investigation that 
was to continue down the ages, until the time 
would come that God would deliver to His 
church, the key to unlock this mystery. 

If Melchizedek was simply a Canaanitish 
priest, but righteous in character, how easy it 
would have been for Paul to have made the 
matter clear in a single sentence even to ears 
that were "dull of hearing." 

V. Both Melchizedek and Abraham w^ere in 
our world at the same time, even at a time 
when Jehovah began to organize his people into 
a nation and into a church. Why did not God 
select the greater of the two, who was already a 
priest and a king, to be the head of His or- 
ganized nation and church in the earth .'^ If 
Melchizedek was a member of our human family, 
his selection for the position would have had 
two great advantages over the successive kings 
who ruled over Israel. The great majority of 
them were desperately wicked and soon passed 
by reason of death, while Melchizedek was 
righteous and deathless, so in the choice of him 
(provided he was a member of our race) there 
would not have been the corrupting influence of 



APPENDIX 165 

a long line of wicked kings, and no change oc- 
casioned by death. Abraham and his seed were 
not to become amalgamated with the Canaanites, 
and yet one was there, — greater, better, more 
righteous than he. 

VI. It would seem that God would scarcely 
call Abraham out of his native land to be a 
missionary in Canaan and finally, when the 
Canaanites had made full the cup of their iniq- 
uity, through his seed dispossess all of the na- 
tions who dwelt in the land, had there been a 
righteous nation dwelling there, with the death- 
less Melchizedek (a far greater personage than 
Abraham), ruling over them as their heaven-ap- 
proved priest-king. 

VII. Since the failure of Adam who was 
created to be the head of our world, no one is 
entitled to the position of priest after the order 
of Melchizedek in our world or for our world 
unless he is exalted to that position by an oath 
of Jehovah. The oath of men will not suffice. 
Therefore, to presume to slip a man into that 
priesthood by the choice of his fellow-men 
(which is the manner of some) is out of har- 
mony with the Bible. Again, no presumptuous 
act of men can convey the power of endless life 
upon an individual whom they may desire to 
exalt to the Melchizedek priesthood, and this 



166 APPENDIX 

qualification belongs to that order. Therefore, 
all efforts of misguided men in this matter are 
impotent. 

VIII. Surely there is great significance at- 
tached to the fact that there is absolutely only 
one man in the whole inspired record,^ who is 
by name or by the official title Melchizedek in 
the same class and in the same "order" as the 
Melchizedek who met Abraham, and that Man 
is Christ. The only individuals mentioned in 
Holy Writ that we can locate in the same class 
(the same '^order") are "the sons of God" men- 
tioned three times in the book of Job. Prob- 
ably no one would claim that these "sons of 
God" were members of our human family, but 
in the light of other Scriptures already cited 
they perfectly fill the specifications of being 
the official heads of other worlds than ours. 
With the exception of Adam and Christ it is 
manifestly an impossibility to find another mem- 
ber of our race who corresponds with the speci- 
fications of Heb. vii, 3. 

IX. AN UNCHANGEABLE PRIESTHOOD. There 

is absolutely no unchangeable priesthood cov- 
ering the history of this world. There would, 
however, have been an unchangeable priesthood 
in this world had not Adam sinned. It must 
follow that in a sinless world the priesthood 

iWith the exception of Adam. 



APPENDIX 16T 

would be unchangeable. When Christ steps 
into the Melchizedek order. He steps into an 
unchangeable priesthood. (Heb. vii, 19-24.) 

X. In proof that the Melchizedek priesthood 
is not composed of an order of men in our world, 
it is written that, although Christ is now a 
Priest in that order, yet if He were on earth He 
could not be a Priest. (Heb. viii, 4.) There- 
fore, regardless of the claims of any church 
that they possess the Melchizedek priesthood, 
according to the teaching of this Scripture, 
there are no priests of the Melchizedek order 
now officiating on earth. 

XI. Another evidence that Melchizedek was 
not a member of our race is found in the fact 
that from the foundation of the world Jehovah 
has never approved of the combination of the 
two offices of priest and king in one individual, 
nor will He recognize such until He comes whose 
right it is. Every king, so far as the inspired 
record goes, who attempted to combine these 
two offices in himself met with the disapproval 
of heaven. 

Seeing then that the Lord has never recog- 
nized either an individual or a group of indi- 
viduals as priest-kings in our world, why should 
we make an exception of Melchizedek, when it 
is manifestly contrary to the Lord's plan to 
combine the two offices in one man in a sinful 



168 APPENDIX 

world? Even Adam never really held these two 
offices, for the kingship of the world was never 
conferred upon him. He was only a prince, as 
is proven by the fact that he surrendered his 
dominion to Satan, whom Jesus styles "the 
prince of this world." (John xiv, 30.) 

XII. A suggestive evidence that Melchizedek 
was not a member of our human family is found 
in the fact that he was not chosen as "father of 
the faithful," which high honor was conferred 
upon Abraham, although it is expressly stated 
that Melchizedek was a "better" personage than 
Abraham. (Heb. vii, 6, 7.) If there was a 
member of our human family upon the stage of 
action in Abraham's day who was conceded by 
inspiration to have been superior to Abraham, 
surely the "better" would have been chosen to 
occupy the exalted position of "father of the 
faithful." Still further evidence that he did 
not belong to our race is supplied in the state- 
ment that he "abideth a priest continually." 
"Here men die." 

The condition of Canaan in Abraham's day, 
the greatness of Melchizedek, lead to the con- 
clusion that he was not a local king by that 
name, but a temporary visitor with that title, 
greater than Abraham (Heb. vii, 4, 7), one of 
the perfect units in God's great plan of the 
universe, whom Abraham recognized, and to 



APPENDIX 169 

whom he rendered, as the representative of 
God, a tenth of the goods he had taken. 

XIII. There could have been no righteous 
kingdom established at Jerusalem in Abraham's 
day, the subjects of which were recognized by 
Jehovah as His people, for when the Israelites 
under the leadership of Joshua were accomplish- 
ing (by direction of Jehovah) the conquest of 
the land of Canaan and had taken Jericho and 
Ai, the inhabitants of Gibeon having sued for 
and secured terms of peace with Israel, — then 
Adonizedec, king of Jerusalem and "one of the 
five kings of the Amorites," sent for the other 
four of the unrighteous coterie to join him 
in a war of chastisement against the inhabit- 
ants of Gibeon, because they had made peace 
with Israel. 

When the five kings had "encamped before 
Gibeon and made war against it," the people 
of the city sent an appeal to Israel for help, and 
Joshua, assembling all the men of war of Israel 
and receiving direct counsel from Jehovah, 
made a forced march to Gibeon, and put the 
five kings with their armies to flight, — the en- 
gagement resulting in great slaughter to the 
five kings. 

It was during this engagement that Joshua 
commanded the sun and the moon to stand still, 
and they obeyed. The Lord took part against 



170 APPENDIX 

the king of Jerusalem also by raining destruc- 
tion in the form of hailstones from heaven. 
The five kings hid themselves in a cave, where 
they were shut up by the command of Joshua 
till he had accomplished the complete rout of 
his enemies, when they were brought forth and 
slain. In the recounting of the thirty-one 
wicked kings with their kingdoms which the 
Lord overthrew to give His people possession 
of the promised land, the third in the list is 
the king of Jerusalem. (Josh, xiii, 9, 10.) 

Later the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem 
sent a challenge to King David that he could 
not occupy their city, except on certain condi- 
tions. David utterly disregarded the condi- 
tions and took forceful possession of the city, 
from whence it is called "the City of David." 
(II Sam. V, 6, 9.) 

All of this evidence goes to prove that there 
was no righteous nation or kingdom occupying 
the Salem (afterward Jerusalem) where Mel- 
chizedek had temporary abode. (Josh, x, 1- 

n.) 

XIV. If (aside from Adam) God chose one 
member of our race and made of him a Mel- 
chizedek — a priest-king — He could have chosen 
another and still another individual, conferring 
upon each this high office, until an order of this 
priesthood had been established in our world, 



APPENDIX 171 

which order would have been superior to that 
of the Levitical priesthood; for, according to 
inspiration (Heb. vii, 4-10), this superiority- 
was conceded by the payment of tithe on the 
part of Abraham to Melchizedek. If God's 
plan could be carried out in thus establishing 
an order of the higher priesthood composed of 
members of our race in Abraham's day, why did 
He establish the Levitical — the inferior^ — in- 
stead ? 

Again, if Melchizedek was a member of our 
human family, and yet such an exalted priest- 
king, why is it that in all of the history of the 
world since Adam's day there is no other mem- 
ber of our race, save the man Christ Jesus, who 
is set forth as being a priest of that "order"? 
And how exalted must be the order when Christ 
is the only member of our race who, as Adam's 
successor, is declared to be a Priest-King after 
the order of Melchizedek. Both the Scrip- 
tural facts and the resistless logic compel the 
conclusion that Melchizedek was not a member 
of our race. 

XV. The book of Hebrews not only sets forth 
the eternal priesthood of Christ, but also 
reveals more clearly and definitely than any 
other book of the Bible the fact of His 
succession to the position lost by Adam, by 
which He becomes the Head of the Divine- 



172 APPENDIX 

human family, and as "the seed of the woman'' 
(Gen. iii, 15) vanquishes Satan by virtue of the 
triumph of Calvary (Heb. ii, 14) ; and thus, as 
the Mediator of the New Covenant, He will ul- 
timately fulfill the promise to Abraham that he 
should be "heir of the world." (Rom. iv, 13.) 
Thus, the reason why these two thoughts are so 
closely interwoven in the book of Hebrews is 
perfectly clear: — namely, that in winning back 
the world-dominion lost by Adam He can and 
will fulfill the promise to Abraham, and in the 
fulfillment of it He Himself becomes Adam's 
successor, — this world's eternal Priest-King, or 
Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 

XVI. Some tell us that "the Holy Spirit, 
speaking through Shem, made him Melchizedek, 
priest of the Most High God." If this position 
is correct, the inevitable logic of it is that any 
man through whom the Lord speaks by His 
Holy Spirit thereby becomes a priest forever 
after the order of Melchizedek, and conse- 
quently a "king of righteousness," and "king of 
peace," for these offices must go with the title. 

If the oath simply made Christ "like the 
Holy Spirit," as some say, what would be the 
occasion for repentance on the part of the 
Father? As a matter of fact, there would be 
no force to the oath if its intent was to make 
Christ like the Holy Spirit, for in His Divine 



APPENDIX 173 

nature, He was from remotest eternity all that 
such a likeness could involve. 

XVII. There is food for thought in the 
fact that, coincident with taking possession 
of His kingdom, Christ will partake of the 
same emblems which Melchizedek brought when 
he met Abraham returning from his victory 
over the unrighteous kings. It is a significant 
fact that when He does partake of these em- 
blems He will have been victorious over all His 
foes. (Compare Luke xxii, 18 with Rev. xix, 
1-9.) Abraham, a member of our race, was 
served with bread and wine by the priest-king 
Melchizedek after he had conquered his foes. 
All our human family who finally "come off 
more than conquerors" will be served with the 
same emblems by Christ when their warfare is 
past and just at the time when He fully enters 
upon His office as our Melchizedek, our eternal 
Priest-King. 

XVIII. Christ became our High Priest 
after the order of Melchizedek by winning 
back the dominion lost by Adam. We be- 
lieve this to have been the only way in heaven's 
plan, by which He could become the High Priest 
of our world. Identical in point of time with 
His complete triumph where Adam had failed, 
— namely over Satan, sin and death, which tri- 
umph was complete when He burst the fetters 



174 APPENDIX 

of the tomb, — He entered upon the preliminary 
work pertaining to His priesthood, and when 
the subjects of His kingdom are all made up, 
He will enter upon His kingly ofBce. He is 
now preparing the subjects for His eternal 
kingdom. The logic of this is that as Adam 
was in the beginning the high priest of our 
world, and had he not fallen, would have been 
our eternal king as soon as the subjects of his 
kingdom were all made up, and as Christ be- 
came our High Priest and will be our eternal 
King, our Melchizedek, so all heads of worlds 
are high priests after the order of Melchize- 
dek. 

XIX. The reason for Adam's failure in 
becoming our eternal king, our Melchizedek, 
was because of his failure in righteousness. 
'^But unto the Son He" [God] ^^saith. 
Thy Throne, O God, is forever and ever; a 
scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy 
kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and 
hated iniquity, therefore God, even Thy God, 
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness 
above thy fellows." (Heb. i, 8, 9.) A scep- 
ter is the symbol of kingly power. Only he 
who wields a scepter of righteousness can in 
God's perfect plan be a king to all eternity. 

XX. A theory set forth by the Jewish lead- 
ers asserted that Melchizedek was Shem. I am 



APPENDIX 175 

not surprised that they should see only a char- 
acter like Shem in Melchizedek, for they 
rejected all the Scripture evidence which proves 
Christ to be the Messiah, including the light 
focused by the Gospel on that wonderful Mes- 
sianic Psalm (110) in which the oath of the 
eternal priesthood of Christ is recorded. 
Then, too, their view is plainly contradictory 
to Scripture statements, which declares that 
Melchizedek was without father, without de- 
scent, without end of life, and that he "abideth 
a priest continually." It is utterly impossible 
that this Scripture could have been descriptive 
of Shem, for he had both father and mother, 
also a pedigree from Adam, and end of life, 
and could not have remained a priest continu- 
ally, for, as noted, death ended his career. 

It would seem evident that Shem never saw 
the Land of Canaan, in which land Abraham 
met Melchizedek, for, so far as we have any rec- 
ord, the only descendants of Shem who ever 
made the journey of 500 miles westward from 
their home in Mesopotamia, were Terah, Abra- 
ham, Lot, and their families. Had the patri- 
arch Shem also transferred his residence to 
Canaan, surely there would have been mention 
made of the fact. It is not at all probable 
that the aged survivor of the Deluge would 
leave his home and family in "Ur of the Chal- 



176 APPENDIX 

dees'' and take up his abode with the descend- 
ants of Ham in Canaan. 

XXI. Some would count Melchlzedek a 
Canaanitish priest and put him in the same 
class as Jethro, the priest or prince of Midian. 
However, God does not put these two persons 
in the same class. If Melchizedek was simply 
a Canaanitish priest, would inspiration rank 
him superior to Abraham, and one who could 
confer a blessing upon the "father of the faith- 
ful," and to whom the latter would pay tithes? 
Then, too, Jehovah never placed Himself under 
oath to the effect that Christ should be a Priest 
forever after the order of Jethro. Surely 
Melchizedek must have been a far superior per- 
sonage to Jethro. If the reader will take the 
trouble to study the brief Bible history of 
Jethro and his family, he will be convinced 
that he was not a recognized priest of Jehovah. 
God does not put Jethro on the same basis as 
Melchizedek. He is never called a priest of 
the Most High God, but simply a priest or 
prince [margin] of Midian, even as there 
were priests or princes of Egypt and of other 
heathen countries. 

XXII. Surely it will not stagger the faith 
of any believer in the Bible to accept the state- 
ment that it is both possible and plausible that 
the inhabitants of other worlds have visited our 



APPENDIX 177 

world when we consider that Enoch and Elijah 
were taken corporeally out of our world; as it 
were, transplanted in heaven; also that Elijah 
and Moses, the latter having been resurrected 
(see Jude ix), came bodily from heaven and 
conversed with Christ on the Mount of Trans- 
figuration. Christ Himself ascended bodily to 
Paradise after His resurrection before He 
would accept the worship of His followers, and 
again forty days after His resurrection. 

XXIII. Some, in order to avoid our key- 
stone text in the book (Hebrews vii, 3), say 
that "none of the expressions in the verse 
really mean what they say." Any minister of 
the Gospel who takes this position stands on 
very weak ground as a preacher of the Word, 
for if the Bible does not mean what it says, 
any one can set aside his strongest sermon with 
the remark, "Your quotations do not mean 
what they say." Taking such liberty with the 
Word of God is destructive of all Bible truth. 
Let us agree together that "all Scripture is 
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable," 
and waive none of it aside with the scoffing re- 
mark "non-essential." 

In order to be positive of his ground on this 
verse the author, having access to numerous 
large libraries, consulted eleven different trans- 
lations of the New Testament, and found them 



178 APPENDIX 

all in perfect accord as to the wording of the 
text — one of them, if possible, making the ex- 
pression ^"^abideth a priest continually" even 
stronger by rendering it "abideth a priest per- 
petually." 

XXIV. When we speak of a Caesar, a kaiser, 
a sultan, a Pharaoh, or a shah, we know ex- 
actly where to place them, because each of them 
belongs to a distinct order of rulers. Why 
should not the Bible student know in what class 
to place a priest after the order of Melchize- 
dek, especially as our Savior is the chief One 
in that order? 

XXV. The study of the preceding pages has 
surely convinced the reader that both Christ 
and Melchizedek bear the title common to 
their order of priesthood. Therefore, Abra- 
ham would be perfectly correct in styling 
Christ our Melchizedek, for He is to be iden- 
tified with our world forever as our Priest- 
King. 

XXVI. When Christ finally sits upon the 
throne as this world's rightful King, He will 
fill the office of King in Adam's stead and will 
be a Priest-King "after the order of Melchize- 
dek," which fact forces upon us the only logical 
conclusion possible, — namely, had Adam not 
failed and so finally have been crowned King, 
he would have been a priest-king "after the 



APPENDIX 179 

order of Melchizedek," and, therefore, this or- 
der is composed of those who are world-wide 
rulers in sinless worlds. 

XXVII. When we had lost our father 
Adam, the head of our world — the one who 
would have attained to the office of priest-king, 
or Melchizedek — there was but one possible way 
to supply the necessity: the Son of God must 
be born into our human family. (John xviii, 
36; Isa. ix, 6, 7.) 

No being in the universe could possibly be- 
come a king perfectly adapted to the conditions 
essential for successful rulership over a people 
who will have passed through the experiences 
of the ultimately redeemed family of this world 
unless he were born a member of their race: 
unless he was partaker of their humanity: in 
all things made like unto his brethren, "tempted 
in all points like as we are" and finally dying 
for our sins. Jesus Christ brings to the office 
of priest-kingship, a perfect personality, per- 
fection of character, and absolute completeness 
and perfection of experience. 

XXVIII. After the object lesson of rebel- 
lion of sin, of misery, woe, and death in this 
world (which in a sense is the lesson book of 
the universe) theriy by the power of a risen 
Savior who is also Creator, this dark world — 
the terrible battlefield of sin — will be wrested 



180 APPENDIX 

from Satan, and be transformed into the bright- 
est, most glorious sphere in the universe, "ac- 
cording to the power whereby he is able even 
to subdue all things unto Himself," and because 
of this redemption accomplished by the Son 
of Man, there shall be given unto "Him a name 
that is above every name." 

XXIX. The oath which makes Christ a 
Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek 
makes Him also "the surety of a better testa- 
ment" (Heb. vii, 20-22), and this same "better 
testament" comprehends in its provisions the 
clothing of redeemed humanity with immortal- 
ity in a sinless state (Heb. viii, 8-12), and the 
re-creation of the earth to be their eternally 
peaceful home. (Isa. xlix, 8, Heb. ix, 15.) 

THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF THE OATH, THE 
EXALTATION OF CHRIST 

XXX. In demonstrating the ultimate pur- 
pose of the oath of Jehovah, by which Christ is 
made a Priest after the order of Melchizedek, 
we must consider two things which are inalien- 
able from the one whom God creates for, or 
calls to, the order of the Melchizedek priest- 
hood. These two things— conferred by God 
either in the design and act of creating the 
individual to fill a position in a certain exalted 
order — namely, to be a world ruler, or, as in 



APPENDIX 181 

the case of Christ only, who attains the posi- 
tion by the conquest of the Cross, — are eternal 
kingship and everlasting fatherhood. But there 
is no such thing as kingship without a king- 
dom, and the interpretation of the title "Mel- 
chizedek" is "king of righteousness" and "king 
of peace." (Heb. vii, 2.) A priest-king must 
of necessity be an individual highly exalted of 
God. The Melchizedek who met Abraham is by 
inspiration lifted high above the whole of the 
Levitical priesthood, from Aaron to the last 
one of that order who filled the ofBce of priest 
till the system gave way and passed at the 
event which it all foreshadowed, — namely, the 
Cross of Calvary. (For Scripture proof of 
this see Heb. vii, 1-10.) 

Now please observe that when Christ is de- 
clared to be a Priest after the order of Mel- 
chizedek, it is not designed of God that He 
should fill this exalted office during the period 
of His humiliation, but rather after His humil- 
iation. There are inspired statements which 
refer to the extreme humiliation of Christ, and 
still others by which God designs to exalt Him. 
Surely the carrying into full effect of the oath 
by which He is made a Priest after the order 
of Melchizedek will highly exalt Him. The 
oath does not make Christ a High Priest dur- 
ing the period of His humiliation, but rather 



182 APPENDIX 

after His humiliation, in the time of His exal- 
tation. Agreeing, then, that the effect of the 
oath of Jehovah in conferring the title Mel- 
chizedek upon Christ will be to highly exalt 
Him, we must also agree that in Jehovah's 
effort to exalt Him the very climax is reached 
in declaring Him to be a Priest forever after 
the order of Melchizedek. 

How is it then that some say that Melchizedek 
was nothing more than a mere Canaanitish 
priest? Would there be any effect whatever 
in the way of exaltation as the result of the 
oath if it simply made Christ's final position 
and priesthood parallel with that of a Ca- 
naanitish priest? In all candor let us ask 
what glory, what majesty in the minds of men 
is added to the priesthood of Christ if the oath 
of Jehovah simply made Him a Priest after 
the order of an unknown Canaanitish priest? 
It would even detract from the majesty of 
Christ's eternal priesthood and kingship to say 
that in His exaltation He was made a Priest 
after the order of Aaron, and we must believe 
that Aaron, in his office of high priest over God's 
organized people in the earth, occupied a posi- 
tion superior to that held by any purely Ca- 
naanitish priest. Therefore, how much more 
would it detract from the majesty of the priest- 
hood of Christ to declare that He was made 



APPENDIX 183 

by the oath of Jehovah a Priest like unto a 
certain Canaanitish priest. 

But if it was the intent of the oath that by 
it He should be constituted a Priest forever 
after the order of a certain notable priest in 
one of the Canaanitish nations, then we would 
be justified in putting such an interpretation 
upon the oath, which would make it read, "The 
Lord hath sworn, and will not repent. Thou 
art a Priest forever after the order of a certain 
Canaanitish priest, called Melchizedek." But 
such an interpretation, instead of adding glory 
to the eternal priesthood of Christ, would 
greatly detract therefrom. Would it not also 
make a burlesque of the sacred oath of Jeho- 
vah? 

On the other hand, if we give to the oath of 
Jehovah its true weight and significance, and 
recognize that by it "God hath highly exalted 
Him," and that in styling Him a Priest after 
the order of Melchizedek, he "hath given Him 
a name that is above every name," and that 
thus the Redeemer of the world becomes its 
rightful Priest-King to all eternity, and also 
the "King of kings" of all worlds, then we 
do not detract from the glory and majesty in- 
tended of God to be conferred upon Christ by 
the oath, nor do we make that sacred oath a 
meaningless parody. It is true that the road 



184 APPENDIX 

to exaltation was by the pathway of humilia- 
tion, but surely the final result of the oath of 
Jehovah will be the bestowal upon Christ of 
"a name that is above every name." "Thou 
art My Son, to-day have I begotten Thee.'' 
(Heb. V, 5.) In the day that He was be- 
gotten from the dead He succeeded to the high 
priesthood of this world. (Rom. i, 4.) 

Question. When did Christ become a Priest .f^ 
Answer. When He took Adam's place as the 
head of our world or became the "last Adam." 
He did this when He had triumphed over sin, 
died for sin, and ascended to heaven, having 
"somewhat to offer." 

Question. After what order did He then 
become High Priest? Answer. After the or- 
der of Melchizedek. 

Question, Then after what order would 
Adam have been a priest if he had not lost his 
right and his priesthood by sin? Answer. 
After the order of Melchizedek. 

Question. Then what constitutes one a 
priest after the order of Melchizedek? An- 
swer. Being the head, the priest-king, of a 
world. 

Then who was the Melchizedek who met Abra- 
ham? 



APPENDIX 185 

ESSENTIALS TO THE MELCHIZEDEK ORDER 
OF PRIESTHOOD 

(a) They are priest-kings. 

(b) They are kings of righteousness. 

(c) Both priest and king must belong to his 
subjects by birth or creation. 

(d) They must be fathers of their families or 
worlds. 

(e) They must abide priests continually. 

(f) They have the power of an endless life. 
Adam would have had this power had he not 
sinned. 

(g) It must not be a matter of choice or hered- 
ity that they are such priests ; they must be 
called of God. 

(h) Unless a special emergency arises in their 
lives, as did arise in Adam's fall, they must 
be without father or mother by birth. 

(i) They must in a peculiar sense be Sons of 
God. Adam by creation; Christ declared 
to be the Son of God with power, according 
to the Spirit of holiness, hy the resurrection 
from the dead. 

( j ) They must be heads of worlds. 

(k) Christ in taking Adam's place fills all of 
these requirements. 



OCT 27 19)3 



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